Teamsters Local 492 will be holding Certified Forklift Training, OSHA 10, and HAZ COM 3/Refresher for members at the Local Union Hall located at 4269 Balloon Park Rd. NE Albuquerque, New Mexico 87109.

Each class will be held from 7:00 am until 4:30 pm on July 16th and 17th and will include classroom as well as practical instruction. The OSHA 10/HAZ COM are combined and require attendance both days. The Forklift Training will be on warehouse and Pettibone forks and is only a one day course.

These classes are limited, so please reserve your spot as soon as possible. Please indicate which class you are signing up for. The deadline for the registration forms has been extended, they must be submitted before July 11, 2011.

Click Here to fill out and submit a Pre-Registration form online.

If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Pohl at the Local Union office at 344-1925 Ext. 18.

Golf Tournament & Poker Run for SIDS

Teamsters Local 492 is proud to be a sponsor the Riley/Ryken SIDS Benefit. Click the pictures above to download the flyer's for The Golf Tournament and/or Poker Run. Entry deadlines are soon so hurry!

Local 492 Teamster Ralph Garcia Named Champion of Change by White House

FORT SMITH, Ark., May 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ABF® driver Ralph Garcia of Rio Rancho, N.M., has been named a Champion of Change as part of President Obama's Winning the Future initiative. Nominated by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), Garcia was one of 20 transportation professionals invited to the White House on May 16. Garcia will appear on the White House website in a video recorded during his visit.

"It was an honor to be invited to the White House to promote something I believe in so strongly—the importance of the trucking industry," said Garcia. "There is no better way to earn a living than behind the wheel as a professional driver. In my 30 years as a driver, I've seen so much of this great country that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to experience."

Garcia has driven professionally for 32 years, the past 19 with ABF. His distinguished record includes placing 14 times in the New Mexico driving championships, including 12 first place finishes, participation in the National Truck Driving Championships, numerous safety awards and membership as a captain in the elite America's Road Team. Administered by the ATA, America's Road Team is a national public outreach program led by a small group of million-mile professional truck drivers who share superior driving skills, remarkable safety records and a strong desire to spread the word about safety on the highway.

Garcia encouraged government advocacy of professional driving as a viable career choice, particularly for military veterans. "Companies like mine are always looking for safe, conscientious and responsible drivers, and those qualities are found in spades in our armed forces. Making it easier for our fighting men and women to transition into jobs in trucking would be a win-win for everyone involved." Citing proposed changes to federal hours-of-service regulations, Garcia said regulators should be aware of the potential impact on drivers. "As a professional driver, I want to be safe on our roads and my more than three million accident-free miles can back that up. The rules we have now work, and changing something that's working just doesn't make sense and will hurt drivers like me."

More information about the Champions of Change initiative is online at www.whitehouse.gov/champions.

To View Past Local 492 New Mexico Truck Roadeos Articles, Click Here.

To see more photos of the event, click here. 

To view a related IBT article, click here. 

To view a related 492 article, click here.

The Teamsters dominated the NM Truck Roadeo again this year, taking 1^st place in 5 of the 8 categories they competed in, (no Teamsters competed in the Step Van) and also took the Team trophy, again. Click Here to view all the photos. To view last year’s results, Click Here.

1^st 4 axle - Gerald Benavidez

1^st 5 axle - Michael Contreras (3-peat)

1^st` Sleeper - James Morgan

1^st Flatbed - Ralph Garcia (9-peat)

1^st Tanker - Bill Sanchez

2^nd Twins - Craig Arellano

3^rd Twins - Chad Sullins

3^rd 3 axle - Charlie Estrada 

ABF’s other participants included Donnie Tafoya - 4 Axle, Don Wood - 3 Axle, Ricky Lucas - Twins, Kirk Weis – Straight Truck, and Ben Saiz - 5 axle sleeper. 

ABF/NM won the TEAM trophy for the 5^th year in a row! ABF also had 2 Drivers of the Month honored. City Driver Richard Smith, for July, and Road Driver Phil Tafoya, for October. 

ABF provided water and ice to the DOT MTP Challenge. ABF Line Driver Charlie Estrada and Line Haul Manager Randy Archer also assisted them during the interview part of their competition.  

ABF Line Driver Jim Curtis, who serves as America’s Road Team Captain, was a very valuable contributor with his time and effort. He was the hostling committee chairman and helped Jim Wilcox Jr., a Retired YRCW Teamster, set up the two courses. Mr. Curtis also hostled the trucks all day, and helped tear it all down and put it away afterwords. 

A special thanks to Retired Roadway Driver Kim Hendrix and his son, and Local 492 Trustee Trey White, who also serves as a Union Steward at ABF,  for volunteering their time to help hostle all the equipment all day and make sure everything was where it was suppose to be and when it was needed.

YRCW/NM won an award for Highest Highway Safety Achievement - First Place over 8,000,000 Miles driven without preventable accidents.

YRC had 4 drivers compete this year: 

Gilbert Gonzales, from Albuquerque - Twins

Randy Amberman from Farmington - 3 Axle

Chris Kovacs from Farmington - 3 Axle

Mark Gauthier from Farmington - 3 Axle

For the 3^rd year in a row, TDI (formerly SCS) Sara Lee New Mexico won the Highest Highway Safety Achievement award for the 100,000 to 500,000 mileage class.

The New Mexico Trucking Association awarded TDI Driver Brian Thais, Driver of the Month for December 2010. Brian also completed in the 4 axle this year.

Teamsters Local 492 is proud to have the Union represented so well at the NM Truck Roadeo and wishes to thank the 18 drivers and all the volunteers for making this Roadeo another great one. If you did not participate this year we encourage you to talk to your employer and compete next year. Let’s show those non-union drivers how the pro’s do it!

 April 13, 2011

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

                       WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY

Forty years ago, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act, promising every worker the right to a safe job. Unions and our allies have fought hard to make that promise a reality—winning protections that have made jobs safer, saved hundreds of thousands of lives and prevented millions of workplace injuries and illnesses.

But our work is not done. Many job hazards are unregulated and uncontrolled. Some employers, like Massey Energy and BP, cut corners and violate the law, putting workers in serious danger and costing lives. Each year thousands of workers are killed and millions more are injured or diseased because of their jobs.

The Obama administration has moved forward to strengthen protections, with tougher enforcement on serious violators and proposed new safeguards for workplace hazards. But business groups and the new Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives are attacking these stronger measures and trying to roll back existing protections, falsely claiming they kill jobs.

They are trying to slash the budget for job safety enforcement and standards. We cannot and will not let them turn back the clock and destroy the progress we have made to make jobs safer and save lives. Safety laws and regulations don’t kill jobs— but unsafe jobs do kill workers.

On April 28, the unions of the AFL-CIO observe Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job and to renew the fight for safe workplaces. This year on the 40th anniversary of OSHA, we will fight to create good jobs in this country that are safe and healthy. We will fight for the freedom of workers to form unions and, through their unions, to speak out and bargain for respect and a better future.

We will demand that the country fulfill the promise of safe jobs for all. Our Work Is Not Done. Click Here To Read More

The rally in Santa Fe to support Wisconsin workers was very energetic (click here to see the photos)(Click here to see video of the event) and rallies like it were held across America.  An estimated 150,000 people nationwide have come out to show their support for workers rights. You can read an article from Teamster Nation by Clicking Here. There is a war going on right now aimed straight at the American Worker. Yes, we are in tough times, but taking from the American worker will only make the economy worse, not better.

Jim Hoffa recently said, "These attacks on working families and government workers are nothing more than divide-and-conquer tactics aimed at weakening or eliminating all unions. I hope my brothers and sisters in private-sector unions don’t fall for them. Because after they’ve finished with government workers, they’ll be coming after you, too."

To find out more, Click: http://www.teamster.org/content/stopthewaronworkers