Winter 2013 - Teamsters Local 25

ReportsBusiness AgentRobert FabrizioI am happy to announce that I wassuccessful in negotiating a new three-yearagreement for the drivers, mechanics andwashers at Peter Pan Bus Lines inChelsea. This three-year agreementincludes wage increases and improvementsin the number of weeks of vacationsfor the mechanics and washers, along with the companyagreeing to purchase several high-end tools together with a computerto aid the mechanics to perform their jobs. I would like tothank my committee members for their help in the negotiations:Steward Bill Thomas, newly appointed Steward for the mechanicsand washers Bryan Alvarez, and Ron Ferguson.I have two contracts that will be coming up for negotiations thisyear. The first one is Romanow Container, a corrugated companyin Westwood, whose contract expires in May. The second contractup for negotiation is Milton-Cat, with locations in both Milfordand North Reading. Local 25 represents the members in the partsdepartment in both of these locations and this is a combined contractbetween Local 25 and the Machinist’s Union. Milton-Cat’scontract expires in June. I will be having proposal meetings forboth of these companies within the next several months.I have several cases filed for arbitration against Stop & Shop thatwill be heard this year. Two of these are for wrongful terminations,along with one for outsourcing work that should have been doneby our members in the maintenance department. Several moreupcoming arbitrations are for contract violations that could not beresolved through meetings with the company and must be decidedby an arbitrator.In the last Spokesman, I reported that Joint Venture (“TheRide”), a para-transit company located in Readville, whose onlycontract is with the MBTA, was sold to National Express, a globalcompany based in Great Britain. National Express assured ourmembers when they took over that they would enhance workingconditions and improve how members were treated. At the time, Ireported that no improvements had been made and that NationalExpress was put on notice. Since then, Steward Ricardo Acevedoand I have had several meetings with the company who has againpromised improvements for workers and better working conditionssoon. Local 25 represents 340 members at this company, andas President O’Brien likes to say, “it’s about results, not excuses.”This Local is prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure NationalExpress makes good on their promises.I would like to thank all of you in allowing me the honor tocontinue representing you for the next three years. There is a lot ofwork that still needs to be done, and I look forward to workingalongside my Stewards to accomplish these goals.In closing, I would like to take this opportunity to thank eachand every one of you who donated to the 2012 Toys for Tots campaign.Even during these trying times, we were able to raise morethis year than in previous years, raising a record $75,000 in combinedcash and toy donations! Because of your generosity, we wereable to support every charity that requested our help as well as ourmembers in need. I want to give a special thank you to each of ourretirees for their tireless commitment year after year to Toys forTots: Joe Conti, Billy Grubbs and Kevin Lally. They truly are ourgreatest asset.I look forward to seeing all of you soon.Business AgentSteve SouthWe attended a hearing, on December 27,at the Massachusetts Division of LaborRelations regarding unfair labor practicecharges that we filed against the SouthShore Regional Emergency CommunicationsCenter (SSRECC). We have scheduledthree negotiation dates in Februaryto attempt to secure a strong first contract and continue our commitmentto the dispatchers and supervisors that we represent there.Thank you to the tireless bargaining committee who has workedhard since day one on behalf of their coworkers.We will be holding proposal meetings over the next few monthsfor the following bargaining units: Town of Watertown DPW,Town of Hingham DPW, and City of Medford School Security. Wehave also recently settled several arbitration cases for Town ofWatertown DPW.In the Moving and Storage Division, we met with the owner ofAce and Acme for a wage reopener and have scheduled two futuredates as well. We also presented an arbitration for members atCasey and Hayes regarding a seniority issue but were not successfuldue to the past practice and lack of grievances over the same issueover the years.At UPS in Chelmsford, we have wrapped up the busiest peakseason that I have seen in my career. Our UPS members again thisyear showed why they are the best in the package industry. We continuenegotiations at UPS both nationally and locally here in NewEngland. We attended negotiations in Washington, D.C., for twowww.teamsterslocal25.com | WINTER 2013 | The SPOKESMAN | 3