Persecuted by Trump, Will Unions Build Towards May 2028? Labor Notes

[OT+]

Will there be room for "Teamsters vs Everybody"?

[Bob Randall]

This is a great idea! However, lining up contracts is very difficult. It requires extensions and cooperation from the Locals. Some union members will have anxieties that will put pressure on the union's planners. With the employers' awareness it becomes even more difficult. Years ago, SEIU had the same national plan for school bus drivers and monitors. For the reasons stated herein as well as others it never really played out. The attempt is good and worthy just the same. Success here could very well carry out elsewhere.

[AlJackson1962!]

Some history:

In 1988 or so, members of the United Paperworkers International Union (UPIU) struck the Jay, Maine International Paper (IP) mill there. IP was demanding concessions: no double time paid for any work performed, freeze on Pension Fund contributions and health insurance premium contributions along with reductions in health insurance benefits. Two other IP plants in Mobile, AL and Lockhaven, PA were locked out by IP - the same IP concessionary demands were on the table for those UPIU members as well. That Jay, Maine strike and the two IP lockouts were ongoing into 1991 when our Teamsters Local 504 CBA with IP owned Carter Rice Paper expired in June 1991. Our Boston based Local 504 contract with Carter Rice covered a Braintree, MA unit of 49 drivers, warehouse workers, and paper cutters. Our contract was a New England regional agreement that included Carter Rice workers and members of RI Local 251, Worcester, MA Local 170, South Windsor, CT Local 559, and New Haven, CT Local 443.

After the five Teamster Locals had been bargaining as one collective voice over the Summer of 1991 (all bargaining was conducted at the same meetings with Carter Rice and any action by the Locals was subject to a collective vote of the Carter Rice workers of all five Locals), it was crystal clear to all Locals that IP would not withdraw it's concessionary demands; that IP's agenda was to land a deafening blow to all IP unionized mills and it's IP owned distribution facilities such as Carter Rice Paper.

Local 504, with by far the largest unit (the other Locals collectively numbered less unit members than the 49 unit members in Local 504) led the contract bargaining for the five Locals. The BA for Local 251, (legendary) Jimmy Boyasian) summed up his recommendation to our bargaining committee during a caucus: "Fuck 'em! Let's strike 'em!" said Jimmy. The others in the room, Tony Buonopane, Local 443, George Vallerie, Local 170, Tom Gilmartin Local 559, and me and Carter Rice steward Barry Bennett Local 504, told Jimmy Boyasian that was just what IP was seeking, to put us all on the street and bring in "permanent replacements" as was happening in Jay, Maine. This was in the very middle of the Teamsters and other Unions advocating for HR 55 and S5 bills barring permanent replacement of economic strikers. Instead, we talked about developing an inside strategy as other Unions had been doing - staying on the job under an expired contract, retaining the right to strike if a ripe opportunity presented itself for an effective and protected strike over unfair labor practices by the employer or a health and safety strike.

Local 504 was a dues paying member of Jobs With Justice (JWJ) at this time. The Massachusetts JWJ chapter was led by activist Rand Wilson. Rand put me in touch with UPIU Local 14 President Bill Meserve, and Bill Meserve met with me in West Springfield, MA as he was on his way back to Jay, Maine after meeting with other UPIU members in Western, Mass. Bill explained the bargaining strategy that UPIU was developing. It was a plan to get all UPIU contracts at IP mills to work under expired agreements (as might be necessary) to remove the bar against implementing strike action collectively and turn IP's coordinated bargaining strategy on it's head. Bill Meserve characterized the plan as building "a pool" of expired contracts, in order to collectively strike IP and its other unionized facilities.

I discussed this with the other Teamster Local bargaining committee members. Barry Bennett and me took it back to our unit at Carter Rice in Braintree. The Carter Rice Local 504 unit was a very strong and militant group) The Braintree unit members as one voice said "we won't ratify a contract with the concessions IP is demanding.' I wrote to Bill Meserve and advised him Teamsters Local 504 members agreed to join the UPIU bargaining pool. So we commenced an 18 month period working without a contract and, because our unit had the majority of the regional group, the other four Locals reluctantly went along with the strategy. However, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that the UPIU bargaining pool strategy was unlawful! IP could coordinate its concessionary bargaining demands, but the Unions representing IP workers could not lawfully coordinate collective action such as building a pool of expired contracts covering the same corporate entity!

That was 1992. I'm all in to coordinate bargaining for every Union member in the USA. In effect, the One Big Union approach advocated by the IWW. But, I thought it might be useful to offer this above NLRB decision and slice of history in preparing for May, 1, 2028, and as the UAW under Sean Fain, moves forward with this strategy.

Carter Rice eventually requested to come back to the table with an improvement on what they had called a last, best, and final offer (LBFO). It provided for increased wages over the LBFO, one step increase in Pension Fund contributions, and increased Employer contributions to health insurance premiums, but no retroactive wages, and double time for Sunday work was eliminated from the contract. Other units working under expired IP contracts were offered similar packages - the increased wage offer offset (somewhat) no retroactivity. In 1997, faced with another round of concessionary demands by IP, we struck Resource Net for one day (Carter Rice had changed its name first to Resource Net then to Xpedx later), but made an unconditional demand to return to work, after word that scabs were being flown in to run the operation. In fact, as darkness descended with the setting Sun, me and Driver Steward Jim Frechette ran across the railroad tracks, that was between the burn barrel at the picket line and the warehouse gate, just as the railroad crossing gate came down for an approaching train. Two cars being driven by scabs were stuck at the crossing gate. We handed my hand written demand to Warehouse manager Gene Haskamp. It took another month or so, but we reached an agreement the members ratified.

I'm forever cognizant of the responsibility a Union representative has for the job and paycheck our members rely on. Strikes should never be taken casually, but from the early 80's into 2000 strike actions were severely limited by the threat of "permanent replacements". In 1992 the NLRB ruled UPIU's pool strategy unlawful. Maybe none of us will know for sure what the NLRB might do if and when Employers are confronted with a wide coordinated strike or general strike. But the current NLRB can't be any better than the 1992 NLRB. But in the end, maybe we've reached the juncture in this country, that requires no less than Local 251 BA Jimmy Boyasian's 1991 words to our Committee: "Fuck 'em! Let's strike 'em!"

Dave Robbins, Local 251, retired

[Bob Randall]

Good piece. Wobblies forever. "Fuck 'em. Let's strike 'em!" And yeah, working with an expired CBA may also be necessary in order to line up. A bit scary though. Twice I had to influence members working at Hartford Provisions to allow the CBA to expire. A clause in that current CBA precluded the union from running a corporate campaign against the employer. We let the CBA expire both times and immediately ran a campaign informing the employer's customers that there was no longer a "no strike" clause in effect and out of "courtesy" suggested that the customer begin to line up deliveries from other suppliers. Phones began blowing up at the employer's place of business. Its customers were frantic. Both times the employer called me and capitulated almost immediately. Hey Jimmy. "Fuck 'em!"

[AlJackson1962!]

Bob: The scary part includes no arbitration when working under an expired CBA, but potentially scarier for the Employer knowing the Union can strike over grievances.

[Bob Randall]

Well, yeah. In the rare cases of that language. We had it at Super Valu. 9.1.C. One year that we allowed expiration of the CBA we later proposed, as a condition of settlement, signing off on pending cases in our favor. We won. Ya gotta pick your spots carefully with good analysis of your leverage, awareness, knowledge. Yup. I think that I would have enjoyed cooperating with you.

[Gimme_Danger]

The work of having picket line language, coordinated bargaining and enforced area standards is painstaking and deliberate. This is something the IBT started in 2022 after decades of neglect. Many other unions calling for a national strike don't have proper picket line language to honor strike extensions.

[AlJackson1962!]

The work of having picket line language, coordinated bargaining and enforced area standards is painstaking and deliberate. This is something the IBT started in 2022 after decades of neglect. Many other unions calling for a national strike don't have proper picket line language to honor strike extensions.

Yo: Gimme Danger: I worked as an active Teamster from 1973 - 2023, as a member of seven different Locals, and I don't recall any CBA I worked under that didn't have contract language protecting my right to honor a primary picket line. After all, doesn't our fearless GP O'Brien proudly and routinely exclaim that "Teamsters don't cross picket lines." Please explain how as you wrote "This is something the IBT started in 2022 after decades of neglect."

Rather than keep pouring cold water on the UAW's strategy to build a solidarity movement among US labor unions to fight back against the Trump/MAGA anti-labor actions, why don't you recognize and give credence to Teamsters that see the sellout OZ regime alliance with right wing racist and fascist politicians for what it is?

[Bob Randall]

Yup! Was wondering wtf he's talking about.