TEAMSTERS UNION LAUDS CARES ACT RELIEF FOR YRCW WORKERS

Loan Will Protect Livelihoods of 30,000 Workers Impacted by Pandemic

A $700 million loan provided by the United States Treasury under the CARES Act will help YRC Worldwide, Inc.'s operating companies pay its employees' health care and other benefits and get through this pandemic while protecting the livelihoods of about 24,000 Teamsters and their families, Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa said today.

"I want to thank Congress for passing the CARES Act, and the President and the Treasury Secretary for their help in making this essential bridge loan possible," Hoffa said. "They recognized the urgency and acted swiftly to avoid our members' health benefits from being cut and, in the long term, to protect

24,000 Teamster jobs at YRC Freight, Holland, Reddaway and New Penn."

The CARES Act assistance will be used to pay for employee health care and pension costs and other obligations. YRCW employs 30,000 freight workers, including 24,000 Teamsters. "I echo General President Hoffa in thanking the government for providing this loan and protecting our members' livelihoods" said Ernie Soehl, Teamsters National Freight Director. "Like so many Teamsters who are essential workers, our members working at the YRCW operating companies have continued to keep our nation's supply chain moving to serve millions of Americans,” Soehl added. “They are true heroes. This assistance gives them some peace of mind moving forward and we hope it gives YRCW the economic stability it needs in the months and years to come."

TEAMSTERS JOIN IN CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH

Union Calls on Congress to Create Federal Holiday

The Teamsters join in honoring the 155th anniversary of the first Juneteenth and call on Congress to create a federal holiday marking the end of slavery. The Teamsters Human Rights & Diversity Commission will be celebrating along with Teamsters from across the country. Juneteenth, a portmanteau of June and nineteenth, is also called Freedom Day, Emancipation Day or Jubilee Day.

Juneteenth acknowledges June 19, 1865, when Major General Gordon Granger, along with more than 1,800 federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take control of the state and ensure freedom for the last remaining enslaved African Americans in the area.

This year, there is a renewed sense of purpose surrounding Juneteenth, given the continuing injustice black Americans face in this country. The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 26 at the hands of police may have been the catalyst event that has brought hundreds of thousands into the streets to protest against racial discrimination all across this country, but the litany of wounds can be traced back 400 years.

“For more than a century, the Teamsters have stood for racial equality. But that in itself is not enough,” Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said. “This union recognizes that we all must do more to ensure that black Americans live their lives without fear of injustice and have an equal voice in our communities. A Juneteenth holiday is a small, but important, step towards recognizing the full independence of every American.”

Juneteenth initially became an occasion for gathering lost family members and measuring progress against freedom. In many territories, freed Black people would dress in their finest clothes to hear speeches. The earliest celebrations sparked traditions that continue today – from readings of the Emancipation Proclamation and religious services, to cookouts and family sporting events.

“This country continues to battle with the demons of its original sin, slavery,” said Marcus King, Director of the Teamsters Human Rights and Diversity Commission. “Creating a Juneteenth holiday will not solve the nation’s ills, but it will continue America’s evolution towards truly bringing liberty and justice for all.”

President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.” However, after more than two years, there were still thousands of enslaved black people unaware of their freedom, located in a handful of confederate territories where word spread slowly or was outright resisted. Some slave owners coordinated with Union troops to wait until the end of a harvest to inform enslaved black people they had been freed. Others resisted until federal troops arrived to read Lincoln’s proclamation to the enslaved.

Although Juneteenth has been informally celebrated primarily by African American communities since that day in 1865, currently 46 of 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia recognize Juneteenth as an official state holiday or observance. Texas became the first in 1980. New York and Virginia have also announced efforts to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday there as well. Many corporations such as Twitter and Nike have declared Juneteenth a company holiday in recent weeks in response to protests over the killing of George Floyd and as corporate America faces backlash over racial inequality.

It is very important to commemorate Juneteenth this year. It has only been 155 years since the end of slavery and African Americans in this country still face discrimination and brutalization through an evolved machine that inflicted those same atrocities over the last 401 years.

The Human Rights & Diversity Commission is using Juneteenth 2020 as day of reflection, action and service. We implore you to join us in doing the same.

Please share your story. Take a picture with your Teamster logo and send it to the IBT Instagram or Facebook pages celebrating Juneteenth.

Essential Working NM Teamster Heroes

We want to thank all of you that have been working during this pandemic. You have been called working heroes and we agree! Pictured here are some of Local 492’s Working Teamster Heroes. Click on the picture to enlarge:

To view the 492 Teamster Hero Gallery, Click Here.