It’s Official! Today Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed the new NM Film incentives into law. “New Mexico is recommitting to our film & TV industry! Signing SB 2 more than doubles the cap on the film tax credit and ensures that this booming industry will bring jobs to the entire state, not just Albuquerque and Santa Fe. We’re sending a clear message to producers inside and outside New Mexico: we want your business. Film and TV will be a bedrock of our economic diversification efforts, & this legislation represents our commitment to job creation, creative industries & sustainable growth,” said Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.

“Now, everyone in the film industry knows that New Mexico is stable. It keeps its word,” said NM House Representative, Moe Maestas. “We have the most beautiful and modern studios, the landscapes, the workers. We know New Mexico is the best place in the world and thanks to the film industry, the world will know that as well.”

Your Teamster 492 Business Agents Melissa Malcom, Trey White and Tracy McCarty, spent hundreds of hours this session lobbying Representatives and Senators in the roundhouse on behalf of the Teamsters and Labor. In particular, they lobbied for House Bill 85 and Senate Bill 2, both of which have now been signed into law! Today at the film bill signing press conference, NM Cabinet Secretary of Economic Development publicly thanked the Teamsters for working so hard to protect NM crew during the 60-day session. The Teamsters were also publicly thanked by the Governor, Representative Antonio "Moe" Maestas and Senator Nancy Rodriguez. We want to thank all of them for taking the time to listen to our concerns and their commitment to the NM workers! We would also like to thank Little West and Jon Lipshutz from the AFL-CIO for working so hard to get this film bill to the Governor’s desk!!!  

HB85: House Bill 85 was signed into law earlier this week and will prevent counties from passing anti-union bills that prevent exclusive bargaining agreements. In other words, counties will not be allowed to pass or enact RTW laws. This is a great win for ALL unions in New Mexico.

“The passage of HB 85 Union Security Agreements is a victory for all working families in New Mexico. Deceptive and divisive "right to work" laws have no place in our state. During multiple legislative sessions, working people mobilized to stop so-called right to work laws from passing in the Roundhouse. Despite this, out-of-state special interest groups tried to undermine the will of the people by pushing these laws through at the local level. Those actions were a subversion of the legislative process, undermined the State's right to determine this issue, and are a distraction from real efforts to improve the lives of working New Mexicans. With HB 85 now signed into law, we hope county and municipal officials will focus on actually creating good jobs, promoting healthy communities, and making our state a better place to live for all working families.” - Jon Lipshutz.

SB2: SB2 will reduce the current 6 year bottleneck of rebate repayment by paying off $225 million of the current $382 in film debt over the next two years and raising the annual cap from $50 millionto $110 million. This will most definitely encourage more productions to film in NM. “There was a backlog and that causes some trepidation,” Lujan Grisham said. “Allowing us to pay down what we owe sends a very strong message to the industry that New Mexico pays its bills.”

Since 2003, the NM film industry has brought about $3.5 billion to New Mexico. During fiscal year 2017, the direct spend in New Mexico from the film industry was about $464.6 million.

The new law also adds a new incentive by completely lifting the annual cap for companies who lease or buy film studios in New Mexico and also commit to filming in New Mexico for 10 years. This will encourage much needed new film infrastructure be added to the New Mexico landscape. The new law also adds a 5% incentive for filming in rural areas 60 miles outside of Santa Fe/Albuquerque area. There is a real possibility that a Las Cruces, Roswell or Farmington film facility could exist in the near future.

The new Film incentives are going to ensure that New Mexico is a huge player in the film industry for years to come. It's going to create great new jobs for New Mexicans and give our current Teamsters more job security.

The Two-Person Committee Meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 10, 2019 to review the tentative National Agreement covering YRC Freight, Holland and New Penn and Supplemental Agreements. If the Two-Man committee approves the tentative YRC National Master Freight Agreement and supplements, it will then be sent to the YRC members for a member ratification vote. More details will be sent to you after the meeting and Teamsters Local 492 will then post and email out the Tentative Agreement

***If you know an YRC member of Local 492 who is not receiving email updates from Local 492, forward this email to them and tell them to go to www.teamsters492.org to sign up or call Trey White at 505-344-1925 ex 15***

The Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Committee (TNFINC) and YRCW companies, YRC Freight, New Penn and Holland, have reached a tentative agreement in principle for a new collective bargaining agreement to succeed the current agreement which is expiring on March 31.

TNFINC has granted a contract extension of the current agreement through May 31, 2019 in order to allow the parties to finalize some language and a few supplemental issues as well as to allow the union’s ratification process to take place.

National Freight Director and TNFINC Co-Chair Ernie Soehl stated, “The parties have worked incredibly hard to reach a new tentative agreement in principle. There were a lot of issues, history and emotions involved with these negotiations. I want to thank the union’s bargaining committee for its hard work and support. We certainly got creative, but I believe we got every penny we could have and that this contract will improve Teamster lives.”

As with the union’s practice, details of the tentative agreement will not be released until after they have been reviewed at a two-person meeting which will be scheduled in the near future. 

Click here For PDF of this article

Everyone needs to be signed up to the website because emails through the website are going to be our primary mode of communication over the next few months. ***If you know an YRC member of Local 492 who is not receiving email updates from Local 492, forward this article to them and tell them to CLICK HERE to sign up or call Trey White at 505-344-1925 ex 15***

Visit the 492 YRC Freight Negotiations 2019 Page

Since 1903, the Teamsters Union has been at the forefront of the struggle for workers’ rights in North America. During Black History Month, Teamsters honor the contributions of African-Americans in our nation’s history and their important place in the union today.

Early on in the union’s history, Teamsters advocated for “no color lines” within the labor movement and would not hold with the practice of separate unions for black members. Women and minorities were part of the membership from the beginning, with black Teamsters attending at the founding convention. Teamster contracts included provisions for equal pay as early as 1917. That year, the union won a clause in a contract for women laundry workers that employees would be paid the same regardless of race.

Over the years, the Teamsters Union has been privileged to both lead and support civil rights struggles that helped build the foundation of our great union and helped make North America a better place for all of us.

“Today’s Teamsters work in almost every imaginable occupation and hail from a multitude of backgrounds and ethnicities,” said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President. “While our heritage and tasks may differ, we share a common commitment to guaranteeing a safe and fair workplace, a secure retirement and a decent standard of living for ourselves, our families and our fellow workers.”

Photos of the Teamsters Leading 2019 Memphis MLK Day Parade

This Black History Month, be thankful for the contributions of those who have helped make our union what it is: a diverse, ever-growing organization that fights for justice, equality and fair treatment in the workplace.

Dozens of 492 Teamsters Honor Vets in NM

Over 30 Teamsters and their family members from around the state of New Mexico gathered at Santa Fe National Cemetery on December 15, 2018 to participate in the Annual Wreath's Across America project. The Teamsters were tasked with a special gravesite-specific assignment where individuals sponsor a wreath specifically for their loved one who is buried within the Santa Fe National Cemetery. There were also about 900 wreaths sponsored that were not gravesite-specific, so a section of the cemetery is designated every year where the non-specific sponsored wreaths are placed. The Teamster's broke off into two groups to tackle the special assignment. The assignment was completed successfully with due diligence and honor for each specific individual gravesite that received a wreath. There are over 60,000 gravesites at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. In total, over 300 volunteers showed up to successfully lay over 3,000 wreaths. Click Here to View Photos

Wreaths across America organization was officially formed in 2007 but the family behind it has been laying wreaths for vets since 1992, Click Here to learn more. The Santa Fe National Cemetery, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, along with Los Alamos National Laboratory's Community Partnership Division has participated in this great project since 2011. Since the beginning of LANL's participation, the Community Partnership Division has partnered up with various groups, departments, and divisions within the Los Alamos National Laboratory for the success of this project. For the first time ever, the Teamster's Local Union 492 partnered up with the Community Partnership Division, and the Santa Fe National Cemetery, to make the 2018 Wreath's Across America project a memorable success.

Teamster Brother Ralph Martinez of LANS/TRIAD who helped organize the Teamsters participation said; “I want to take this time to thank all the Teamster's, and their families, who came out to help make the 2018 Wreath's Across America project at the Santa Fe National Cemetery a success.  Thank you to the Teamsters listed below that volunteered their Saturday to help honor the veterans. It was a great day of bonding within the Brotherhood and I look forward to more of these days ahead. Thank you guys!!”

Teamsters and their family members in Alphabetical Order from LANL were; Daniel M. Abeyta, Derrick Aragon, James T. Armstrong II, Danny Esquibel, Chris Garcia, Peter Garza, Alex Gutierrez, Leroy Gonzales, Christopher & Rubina Loibl, Phillip & Vincent Lujan, Jesse Marquez, Kenny Ortiz, Modest Quintana, Michael Rivera, James Romero, Jimmy M. Sandoval, Howard Smith, Richard Suazo, Adrian Trujillo, Phillip Valdez. Teamsters from ABF were; Joseph Carrillo, Marvin Garcia, Stephen, Pamela, Dillion, Angel, & Aspen Roger's, Kirk & Brandon Weis, and Larry Ortiz from Roadway.

This article was also reposted by the IBT.