The Teamster Local 492 Film Division held a training class on Saturday June 17, 2017 at Santa Fe Studios to help Teamster drivers learn more about some of the common equipment operated by Teamsters in the NM Film industry. With hands on training, the 31 participants spent about 7 hours learning how to operate Honeywagons, Water Trucks, and Landalls. See more pictures here. The film equipment training class was a first of its kind for Local 492, which was put together by our Film Division Business Agent Melissa A. Malcom. We would like to thank her for all the time she spent organizing & putting this class together, creating teaching materials, and donating her weekend for the class.

We would also like to thank our fellow 492 Film Division drivers; Kip Wolverton (who taught the water truck class), Harold Martinez (who taught the Landall class), and Josh Hauser (who taught the Honeywagon class). We could not have done this without these men donating their time, skills and great knowledge of this equipment for this event! Thanks to Business Agent Trey White for coming up to Santa Fe on Saturday to help out! 

A special thanks to all the vendors who donated the equipment and studio space for the class:

Honeywagon- Mark Russell (Reel Trucks), Landall and Tractor- Mario Medina (Advantage Paving), Water Trucks- Elliott Locations & Eric Rivera, and P-Mo- Mike Russell (MBR). Also thank you very much to Octavio Marin of Santa Fe Studios for the space to train on this big equipment. We definitely needed the large area Santa Fe Studios donated for the day.

Thanks to all that participated, it all went off perfectly, other than it was a very hot day, and so we appreciate all of you sticking it out for the entire day! 

The ongoing development of drone technology – or unmanned aerial vehicles – raises important questions and challenges for Teamster members at UPS. Earlier this year, the company tested a drone that launches from the top of a package car.

A new article out last week explores the use of automation as the future of parcel delivery. 

“The Teamsters Package Division and the union as a whole are deeply engaged in monitoring these technological developments and strategically preparing for the future, with a particular focus on the impact automation could have on our members at UPS and the entire package delivery industry,” said Sean O’Brien, Director of the Teamsters Package Division. 

Working with allies and lawmakers, the union is proactively planning on how to respond to this new technology in order to protect UPS Teamsters who may be impacted by automation. The union is also analyzing the safety impact of drones and other automated technology to explore how these issues might be addressed in future bargaining.

Recent FAA-commissioned findings looked at the dangers of drones injuring humans, which seems to be a likely scenario if drones are used in ground-level package delivery. The report also raised concerns about packages being dropped from drones: “For some UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] applications, such as delivery services, there is a risk of losing the payload in flight. If one of these 5-lbs. payloads were to drop from the UAS, it could cause serious injury.”  

“For all the hype around drones, there is still a lot of uncertainty and time before this technology can be used to make package deliveries to homes. In the meantime, we have to recognize the role of technology when it improves our lives and working conditions but also fight back when technological changes threaten our  jobs and puts the community at risk,” O’Brien said.

If you are a member in good standing,  please register (log in) to participate in Member Only features, which include being able to view or download the Rocky Mountain Teamster, receive email and/or cell phone text updates in your industry from the local, download grievance forms and much more. Click here to read the Local 492 Welcome Message From Secretary-Treasurer, Walter R. Maestas.

The New Mexico Truck Driving Championships were held at the Isleta Resort for the third year.

There were 103 contestants this year, 31 of them were Teamsters from 4 Companies including ABF, TeamOne, UPS Freight, and YRC who sent their best drivers. Teamsters Local 492 would like to thank and congratulate these great Professional Drivers for competing.

Below is a list of the Teamster Companies that competed (in alphabetical order). ABF is the only Company that submitted information, so we apologize if we missed anyone.          

ABF had 14 drivers compete, 6 placed:

Gerald Martinez recently hit 3 million accident free miles and was selected as Driver of the 4^th Quarter of 2016 and Driver of the Year. ABF won the Fleet Safety Award for the City Operations in the “100,000 to 500,000 NM miles” category for the 4^th year in a row. ABF also won the Fleet Safety Award for the Line Haul Operation in the “Over 5 million NM miles” category for the 6^th year in a row. Also competing for ABF; Craig Arellano, Robert Delgado, Fernando Gonzalez, Carl Marquez, Joey Padilla, Chad Sullins, Jesus Vidaca, and Don Wood.

TeamOne (UPS Truckload) won the 500k to 1M Fleet Safety Award again this year and had 2 drivers competing this year; Brian Thais 4-Axle (this is his 9^th year competing) & Cam Misner 4-Axle (this is his 5^th year competing) 

UPS Freight had 5 drivers compete this year:

YRC had 10 drivers compete this year:

Wes Johnson was selected as 2016 Driver of the Year and also Competing for YRC was Javier Cruz, Richard Cruz, David Garduño, Martin Griego, Manny Gomez, Samuel Soto, Steven Taylor.

TDC Scores.pdf

XPO drivers in Trenton, New Jersey voted to join Teamsters Local 701 on Friday, April 14, boosting momentum to a nationwide workers' campaign for fairness at the giant transportation and logistics company.

Also voting on Friday, April 14, drivers in Elgin, Illinois and dockworkers in Aurora, Illinois were not successful at this time seeking Teamster representation. The actions of XPO and its high-priced union busters has been egregious and suspect throughout the company's campaigns and will be challenged through the National Labor Relations Board.

The 34 drivers in Trenton join the hundreds of workers nationwide who have already formed their union as Teamsters. The earlier victories were in Aurora (drivers); Miami; Laredo, Texas; Vernon, Calif.; North Haven, Conn.; and King of Prussia, Pa.

"The victory in Trenton and the company's desperate actions in Illinois show that the XPO workers' campaign is getting stronger and stronger, as freight, warehouse and port drivers fight for a more secure future," said Ernie Soehl, Director of the Teamsters National Freight Division, who is also President of Local 701 in North Brunswick, New Jersey. "The workers help make XPO very successful and they deserve to be rewarded for their hard work."

The drivers are seeking decent and affordable health insurance, a secure retirement, job security and a voice on the job. Port, freight and warehouse workers at XPO are coming together across the country in their fight for a more secure future.

In Late 2016, 52 drivers at XPO Logistics in suburban Philadelphia voted for Teamster representation, who joined workers in Miami, FL; Laredo, Texas; Vernon, Calif.; Aurora, Ill.; and in North Haven, Conn. who have already voted for Teamster representation. In addition, 777 workers at Parsec, Inc., in California, who handle XPO freight, voted to join Teamsters Local 986. Hundreds of XPO trucks come in and out of the Parsec yard each week.