Eligibility: For the sons, daughters and financial dependents of Teamster members (including the BMWED, BLET, GCC and TCRC). Academic scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 for high school seniors planning to attend a four-year college or university and Training/Vocational program awards of up to $2,000 for use at community colleges and trade schools. For more details, Click Here.
Application Open: November 30, 2019
DEADLINE: March 31, 2020 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time Zone
As a Teamster member, there is a college tuition discount program that is available to you and members of your family. The ISTS Tuition Discount Network (TDN) is a list of For-Profit and Non-Profit colleges and universities that offer reduced tuition. The amount of the reduction can varies by school and can sometimes be as specific as major. Make sure you identify yourself as a Teamster when applying.
James R. Hoffa became a Teamster member in 1934 and served as General President for 14 years, and, in recognition of his tireless service to the union and its members, was honored as General President Emeritus for life. At the November 1999 General Executive Board meeting, then-General Secretary-Treasurer C. Thomas Keegel presented a resolution to establish the new scholarship fund. This site describes the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund (JRHMSF) and outlines eligibility requirements and application procedures. Please click here.
The James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund is an independent organization established and registered as a tax-exempt entity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Fund is established solely to provide scholarships to the child or dependent of a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and contributions to the Fund are deductible as charitable contributions to the extent permitted by law.
Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act - Workers Deserve Protection From Anti-Union Employers
By Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa
A U.S. House committee took a much-needed step towards empowering workers by approving legislation that would expand their right to organize on the job while shielding them from employer intimidation if they choose to form a union.
Teamsters Local 492 held forklift classes on November 15th and 16th. These classes were first come, first serve and filled up fast. There were a total of 40 attendees that were certified or re-certified over the 2 day period, which maxed out the class size limits for 2 instructors. (OSHA will only allow 10 people per instructor per day when they are certifying skills on an actual Forklift.) The “safety” (non-skill) certification classes that were previously offered, often had many more people in attendance, but these “Safety-Only” classes do not have Forklifts to test skills on and only give you a safety certification. However, the certification that was given this weekend was for the operation of forklifts including Class 4 & 5 and also a Reach Lift (petti-bone Class 7), which was also on site. (See All The Pics Here!)
Local 492 is holding these “Hands-on” forklift classes because more production companies, like Netflix, are requiring this type of certification and we want our 492 Teamsters to be able to get that next job. Hopefully, we will be having more of these classes in the near future and we are also looking into having an all-day Petti-bone (Class 7) class for those in the Movie Industry that need such certification. Local 492 served a delicious free lunch, catered by Sadie’s and we also gave the attendees a free Teamster Local 492 “Forklift Certified” T-Shirt along with their New Teamster 492 Forklift Certification Card.
A special thanks to 492 Film Dept. Business Agent Melissa Malcom and BA Trey White for taking the time to set up these classes and for donating their weekend again for the members of this great Local!!! Thank you to Leon at United Rentals for supplying the lifts at cost and to Brothers Bill Botos and Dan Morrison from Teamsters Local 631 for teaching the class.
492 BA Malcom Union Panelist at Film & TV Career Connection
Today, Nov 09, 2019, Teamsters Local 492 Film Department Business Agent Melissa A. Malcom served as a Union Panelist for the Film & Television Career Connection at the South Broadway Cultural Center which was sponsored by the ONE Albuquerque Film Office.
There were about 500 people that attended the event where they received firsthand information from the Albuquerque Film Office, City Leaders, Film and TV Production and Industry Professionals, Film Unions, and Film Education Programs about career opportunities, education, skills, internships, jobs, and networking in the NM Film and Television Industry.
Sister Malcom first explained that Teamsters in the Film Industry are the drivers of all of the equipment used in productions along with other transportation related jobs like Dispatchers and Mechanics. She also spoke about how all of the animals on set are handled/trained by Teamsters Wranglers. She then explained the CDL requirements needed to work as a Teamster Driver and answered questions about the difference between our waiting list and our overflow list. The waiting list is simply an electronic free-to-sign-up form to let Local 492 know you want to be contacted by the 492 Film Dept. if there is ever a spot open on our overflow “Exhausted” list. The overflow “Exhausted” list is the actual list of qualified Drivers and Wranglers that have turned in all of the required paperwork and have made themselves available through our Electronic Call Board each day. Producers can choose from these available "Exhausted List" Teamsters after the lists of our long term tenured Teamsters have been exhausted.
NM Film BA Malcom then announced the record setting year the NM Film Teamsters had in 2019. "The number of Teamsters working and the amount of hours they worked this year is the highest in NM 492’s history, which allowed Local 492 to add more New Mexico residents onto our overflow list," she said. Melissa stated we are expecting 2020 to be another busy year.
Melissa also gave the audience some helpful tips and advice on being a successful Teamster which included answering your phone and saying YES when called for work, doing your job and doing it well, and also being friendly and professional.
Teamsters Local 492 would like to thank Sister Malcom for volunteering another of her weekends representing our great Union. Melissa is a great Teamster ambassador and always says YES to our industry and community leaders when asked to serve on these volunteer community outreach & educational programs. Thank you Melissa!!!
Under the current administration, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has systematically rolled back workers’ rights to form unions and engage in collective bargaining with their employers, to the detriment of workers, their communities, and the economy. The current national board has issued a series of significant decisions weakening worker protections under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA/Act). Further, the current national board has engaged in an unprecedented number of rulemakings aimed at overturning existing worker protections. Finally, the current NLRB general counsel (GC) has advanced policies that leave fewer workers protected by the NLRA and has advocated for changes in the law that roll back workers’ rights.
The current national board and GC have routinely betrayed the statute they are responsible for administering and enforcing and elevated corporate interests above those of YOU, working men and women of America. Click Here to Read an article that highlights of the most egregious actions of the current national board and GC and evaluates the impact on working people. It is critical that Congress hold this “new” NLRB accountable and that policymakers prioritize legislative reforms that will restore the original promise of our nation’s labor law—to encourage and promote the formation of unions and the practice of collective bargaining. Click Here to Read More
Record Attendance at Local 492 Union Stewards Seminar
Today, October 27th 2019, Teamsters Local 492 conducted a Stewards Seminar for all the current stewards and alternate stewards. The stewards that attended learned key skills to enable them to perform their duties as stewards. Steward Instructor Iliana Flores of the IBT training department was there to teach the Stewards about the 7 rules of just cause, Weingarten Rights, Maintenance of Standards, how to identify if a certain practice at work can be considered a “Past Practice.” Managements Rights, how to decide when to file (or not), how to properly fill out a grievance, which includes putting on the grievance form the who, what, where, when, and why. Sister Flores also spoke She also taught the stewards how to speak to management and resolve issues.
Union Labor Lawyer Shane Youtz spoke about the rights Stewards have in the work place and tools they can use to get their job done. Mr. Youtz also spoke about how to use the NLRB to make sure the company is behaving properly. NM State Representative Liz Thomson spoke to the Stewards about how she gets advice from Unions before voting on any legislation that involves workers. NM Representative Joy Garrett spoke to the stewards about her time in the union, thanked and encouraged the Stewards for the work they do for Unions and spoke about labor issues in NM.
The stewards also met and heard from Secretary-Treasurer Walter R. Maestas, President Mike Butler, Recording Secretary Trey White and a Special Thanks to Business Agents Melissa Malcom & Tracy McCarty who coordinated the event. The Stewards were treated to a delicious lunch catered by Rudy’s BBQ and were given a special Teamster Local 492 Stewards Shirt, IBT Steward Certificate and Stewards Lapel Pin.
After Lunch, Film Department Business Agent Melissa Malcom took the 15 Movie Stewards to a separate meeting room to teach them Movie Specific issues which included Black Book vs 492 MOA, 492 Jurisdiction & Equipment, How To Handle Violations, Steward & Captain Responsibilities, See Something-Say Something, Using The ECB, 30 Mile Zone, Holiday Pay, Meal Penalties and Meal Money, just to name a few. She then answered questions from A to Z.
We set a record for participation at this Stewards seminar by more than doubling the amount of Steward Attendees compared to the 2009 and 2014 seminars. There were 56 Stewards at the event which included 15 from UPS, 15 from the Movie Industry, 10 from ABF, 4 from YRC, 3 from Jacobs, 2 from AmeriPride, 2 from Sysco, and 1 from ATF, Creamland, NCRTD, Penske, and TeamOne. We had stewards travel from cities as far away as Las Cruces, Silver City, Taos, and Farmington. We want to thank all of the Stewards that sacrificed their Sunday to advance their skills in order to help the members of local 492! Please make sure you go out of your way this week to personally thank them for what they do. Click here to view photos of the event.
To view past 492 steward seminars click 2009, 2010 or 2014.
October 2, 2019 - Today, the 492 Teamster members working for NCRTD voted 31-3 in favor of ratifying the 2019 agreement. Congratulations and thank you to all that voted. We were also able to organize 14 new members today for this public sector unit.
Local 492 B/A’s Trey White, Tracy McCarty and Melissa Malcom and the NCRTD Teamster Negotiating Committee obtained a Tentative Agreement with NCRTD (Blue Bus) on September 26th, 2019 which included a record wage increase of about $1.00 (6.6%) in the first year, which is more than double the increase this group has EVER seen! This was a long, drawn out process that started in May of 2019. After a lot of back and forth, the Local 492 Negotiating Committee reached a great deal that will greatly benefit the NCRTD members. We then had a 2.5 hour meeting on Sunday, September 29, 2019 in Espanola where we went over the details of the Tentative Agreement and answered questions.
Three years ago, negotiations took an unfortunate turn over safety partitions for drivers. This year, we were able to finally secure terms that included any new busses purchased after ratification will have partitions installed behind the driver seat for their protection. We also made a lot of headway getting some of the other big issues addressed that the members told us they had with their contract which includes:
A record 6.6% increase for CDL Positions; Driver II, CSR II, Driver III/Lead and CSR III in the first year! That’s about a $1 raise for most drivers, and even more for the higher grades. A total wage increase of 11.6% by July 2021. (Previous couple of years were 2.7% raises)
Health & Welfare increases for year FY2021 will be paid by the District
Increase in pension rate paid by the District
New Performance and Promotion language to allow for higher rates paid beyond the contract minimums
Increased Longevity Award
$15 per month laundry allowance and new uniforms each year, if needed
Cleared up several issues regarding bidding
Warning notice improvements & progressive discipline was introduced
Made the grievance procedure more efficient and added mediation
Family Attendance at NM Teamster Appreciation Day 2019 Rebounds after 2 Year Decline
September 28, 2019 - Today, on a sunny Saturday, 625 people came to the 2019 New Mexico Teamsters Appreciation Day reaching another new all-time high for the amount of active 492 Members attending. This is the 7th year Teamsters Local 492 has hosted an event to celebrate the Teamsters of New Mexico.
Last year, in 2018, we had another increase in member attendance, but far less of their family accompanied them to the event compared to 2017, so we had about 120 sandwiches left over. But this year, we actually had so many people show up, that we ran out of food towards the very end of the event and were unfortunately about 10 Firehouse Subs short. A total of 500 have come to the event in 3 of the last 4 years. The exception was when our previous record was set for overall attendees (members & family), 3 years ago in 2016. We have finally surpassed that 2016 record this year and it was wonderful to meet so many family members of our great Teamsters!
Local 492 Teamsters came from a wide variety of crafts and companies which included a vast majority coming from the Freight and Package industries (in order of highest member turnout); UPS, ABF, YRC, 492 Movie Drivers & Movie Wranglers, Sysco, Creamland, LANS/Triad, AmeriPride Linen, OMI/Jacobs, Chiulista, Penske, American Airlines, ATF, Franklins, NCRTD Blue Bus, Sandia Labs, TeamOne, and Sara Lee Thrift Stores. There were Teamster Retirees that also attended and Brother Phil Tuff had a booth set up for info on the Teamster Retiree Club.
Attendees were treated to special event speakers Moe Maestas (NM State representative), Maggie Toulouse Oliver (Secretary of State - New Mexico), and ABQ Mayor Tim Keller.
Members enjoyed the perfect weather, free Firehouse Subs, a free Teamster shirt and other gifts. The kids enjoyed the face painting, a 5 in 1 Jumper Castle, and free Teamsters Local 492 Frisbees. There were also some games provided which many enjoyed, plus Rafael Trujillo (ABF) and Rafael Trujillo Jr. (ABF) treated the attendees to their wonderful singing for a second year and the Cactus Flowers Band also performed.
The Teamsters Joint Council #3 Truck was there again this year thanks to Retired 455 Vice President, Jim Adams who drove it down from Colorado. Jim and his wife Maria also helped set-up, during and clean-up after the event! Thanks so much!!!
Those of you that attended were able to personally congratulate Secretary-Treasurer Walter R. Maestas, who announced his end-of-the-year retirement date. The other members of the Teamsters 492 Executive Board attending the event; President Mike Butler, Vice-President Richard Martinez, Recording Secretary/BA Trey White, Trustees Joseph Carrillo, Andrew Palmer and Aaron Powell, along with Business Agents Melissa Malcom & Tracy McCarty. You may have run into some of them busy working to make sure the event ran smooth. We apologize if we didn’t have much time to talk as you could see, we had our hands full this year.
There were 32 volunteers that helped with the event this year!!! Volunteers (in alphabetical order) who came in early on Saturday to help set up the event were; Randy Archer (ABF), Shane Barrows (YRC), Anthony Boswell (Sysco), Robert Delgado (ABF), Kevin Keever (YRC), Easter Maestas (ABF), Sonia Rodriguez-Ortega (UPS), Robert Sanders (ABF), Daniel Sanchez (UPS), Frank Sandoval (Movies), Robert Sanders (ABF), Scott Scavinsky (Sysco), William Sorci (YRC), Lawrence Standard (YRC), Kirk Weis (ABF), and Donald Wood (ABF).
A special thanks to Rori Hall (ABF) and Brittany Thorpe who both volunteered at the check-in/food table and went Wednesday to shop for those great raffle prizes.
A special thanks to Chad Sullins (ABF), who volunteered to photograph the entire event from set up to clean-up. View Chad's Great Photos Here!
A special thanks to Brian Chavez (Husband of Film B/A Melissa Malcom) who showed up early to help set-up. For the second year, Brian also picked-up the first order of delicious Box Lunches from Firehouse Subs before the event and the other half of the order in the afternoon, which enabled everyone to enjoy a fresh sandwich. Brian has been helping this local for years now, including donating his time, skills and tools to help remodel various sections of the union hall including 3 business agent offices and the 492 entry way. Thanks so much Brian!!!
Other volunteers that helped during the event; Melinda Delgado (ABF) was a great help at the check-in desk, office secretary Darlene Archuleta ran the 492 Teamster store with help from Marie Wilson and Maria Adams. The Face painting was done by Silvana Cufré (ABF), Albert Lujan (ABF) and Savannah Tafoya (daughter of ABF Steward Melinda Delgado). Theron Graham (Movies) did a great job for a second year keeping the sodas & water cold and trash cans empty all day.
Thank you to the 492 Volunteer Event Committee (Joseph Carrillo, Melissa Malcom and Trey White) for all of their hard work and the countless hours of their personal time they donated to this great Union over the past months again preparing for this day. This team came in at early Saturday morning to prepare the outside and then worked the entire event to insure the Members would enjoy themselves. In addition to the planning and event day, they worked most of this week setting-up the inside of the hall while also working late into the night doing their regular jobs along with Tracy McCarty, who was also our supply runner on the day of the event.
Thank you to all who participated and attended this event, we truly enjoyed seeing all of you and meeting your families. We are encouraged that attendance is on the rise again. On behalf of the Teamsters Local 492 staff, Business Agents and Executive Board, we truly appreciate the Members of this Local Union and everything you do to make this Union great, and all the hard working Union Stewards that do such a great job helping their fellow Members, thank you Teamster Brothers & Sisters!
The ballots were counted on September 13th, 2019 for the Sysco NM Tentative Agreement (T/A). The T/A passed with 63% voting to ratify the contract by a vote of 79 to 46 with 86% of eligible members voting. We want to thank all the Sysco Members who voted and congratulate them on their new contract. Teamsters Local 492 would also like to thank the JC#3 President Steve Vairma, and IBT representatives Tamlya Edwards, Denny Toland, Sean Rudolph, Tom Erickson, Dave Hawely, Kathy Tiihonen, Michael Manley and all of the 492 committee members that helped negotiate the new agreement.
This was a long battle and we want to thank members for their patience while we worked to get an agreement. Local 492 Staff started preparing for this Sysco battle in October of 2018, which included getting the IBT involved. Before our first meeting with the stewards in December, Local 492 B/A’s Trey White, Tracy McCarty and Melissa Malcom had already done a lot of work and research to get ready for the fight because of Sysco’s history with the union. Local 492 has negotiated 7 CBA’s this year but by far has put more time and resources into the Sysco CBA than any other 492 local agreement.
In December, we sent out proposal surveys to the Sysco Members and then in January, we held a proposal meeting with the Sysco members. IBT representatives Tamlya Edwards, Denny Toland and Sean Rudolph were present to answer questions about DIP/WHIP and negotiation preparation. In April, IBT Vice President Steve Vairma and Kathy Tiihonen joined us for two more meetings with the Sysco members to explain how to work under an expired contract. For the first time in 492’s history, Local 492 chose not to give the company a contract extension due to Sysco’s propensity to drag out negotiations. In June, Local 492 had another meeting with members and a strike authorization vote was taken (which was unanimous among the 57 Sysco Teamsters that showed up) due to the company not willing to budge on many items the members said were important to them. This seemed to help because Sysco’s attitude at the table quickly changed and we were able to make significant progress with the non-economic issues. In July, we attempted a practice picket, and had two sticker/button days. Two weeks later, we had a Tentative Agreement (T/A). Local 492 then had another meeting in July with the Sysco members to discuss the agreement and answer the members’ questions. The 25 members that attended informed us that they were not satisfied with the economic package.
In August, the Sysco members rejected the T/A by a vote of 44-29. When threatening a strike, this very low voting turnout (150 member unit) is a concerning issue for the Union because the Union needs full cooperation from all of the members to have a productive strike. Regardless of the voting participation issue, the 492 Teamster Committee Members knew we needed to get more from the company. Along with IBT representatives Sean Rudolph and Dave Hawley, the 492 committee met with the Company again in September and were able to secure a $500 signing bonus for members and a .90¢ wage increase in the first year for drivers, which is about double what they have received in previous contracts.
Communicating with the Sysco Members was a high priority for Local 492 and we tried to get as many members engaged in this fight as possible because we know that when all of the members are united, it sends a clear message to the company. We sent out dozens of email blasts and for the first time, Local 492 also text the members directly. From January thru July, Local 492 held 6 meetings with the members in ABQ and even traveled to the southern area of the state 3 times (March, July, and September) and twice in the northern area (July & September). The 492 Sysco Teamster Committee met with the Company 25 times over a 6 month period. Local 492 B/A’s had countless calls with the dozens of IBT experts to guide us a through this long journey.
After nearly a year between start and finish working on this CBA, we now have a ratified agreement. With 46 members still voting against the second tentative agreement, there are obviously some that believe there was more to get from Sysco. These members deserve every penny we can squeeze from Sysco and we made great progress during this negotiation, even if it wasn’t all everyone had hoped for. The key to putting pressure on companies like Sysco is the unified front from all of the members. We saw a lot of unity this year and we hope to build on that momentum in the future with these great Sysco members and at least double the member participation that we had this time around to get an even better contract next time.
Below are some of the highlights of the new agreement:
The New Ratified CBA will expire on April 25, 2025 and now includes a signing bonus of $500.00 for every fulltime employee (even those on DIP/WHIP).
The new wage package includes a record setting large increase upfront in the first year of .90¢ for Drivers and .70¢ for whse.
The company has also made a verbal commitment to correct loading issues regarding not giving drivers enough space around the back of the door and the freezer door so drivers can safely unload at their first stop.
We made a lot of headway getting some of the biggest issues addressed that the members, told us they had with their contract. Some of the issues resolved include;
Several improvements to the vacation language, including:(1) An increase to 2 weeks’ vacation after only 6 months seniority, (2) a 5th week for those with 25 years or more, (3) The option to cash out all weeks of vacation, (4) Company will now cash out all unused vacation upon voluntary quit, retire, resign or layoff, (5) Paid vacation will now show as “time worked” when calculating overtime hours.
Part-time employee’s improvements include preventing future overuse of using part-timers and terminating part-timers at will.
The Union gave the Company the ability to post driver bids as single day (They are not forced to do so but now once again have the ability)
The Company must now notify the Union before changing WHIP or DIP
Increased the meal allowance for overnight drivers
Added new language to the grievance procedure we hope will help better resolve issues that come up in the future.
Added language to stop the abuse of supervisors working, including requirement to exhaust all those wanting overtime.
Paid Holidays and Paid Vacations will now be included as “time worked” when calculating overtime hours.
Today, September 13th, 2019, the ballots were counted for the Sysco NM Tentative Agreement. There was an 86% turnout on the vote, which was very good. The tentative agreement has passed with 63% voting to ratify the contract by a vote of 79 to 46. We want to thank everyone who voted and congratulate you on your new contract. The $500 bonus checks should be sent to you within the next few weeks. Your new rate of pay should begin on Sunday.
Below are some of the highlights of the new agreement:
The New Ratified CBA will expire on April 25, 2025 and includes a signing bonus of $500.00 for every fulltime employee (even those on DIP/WHIP).
Record setting large wage increase upfront in the first year of .90¢ for Drivers and .70¢ for whse.
The company has also made a verbal commitment to correct loading issues regarding not giving drivers enough space around the back of the door and the freezer door so drivers can safely unload at their first stop.
We made a lot of headway getting some of the biggest issues addressed that you, the members, told us you had with your contract. Some of the bigger issues resolved include;
Several improvements to the vacation language, including: (1) An increase to 2 weeks’ vacation after only 6 months seniority, (2) a 5th week for those with 25 years or more, (3) The option to cash out all weeks of vacation, (4) Company will now cash out all unused vacation upon voluntary quit, retire, resign or layoff, (5) Paid vacation will now show as “time worked” when calculating overtime hours.
Part-time employee’s improvements include preventing future overuse of using part-timers and terminating part-timers at will.
The Union gave the Company the ability to post driver bids as single day (They are not forced to do so but now once again have the ability)
The Company must now notify the Union before changing WHIP or DIP
Increased the meal allowance for overnight drivers
Added new language to the grievance procedure we hope will help better resolve issues that come up in the future.
Added language to stop the abuse of supervisors working, including requirement to exhaust all those wanting overtime.
Paid Holidays and Paid Vacations will now be included as “time worked” when calculating overtime hours.
Some of the smaller issues resolved include:
Multiple issues resolved regarding posting bids
Posting overtime sheets
Driver protection if bid is abolished
Restructured night differential in the whse
Extra break for whse employees working long hours
Your Union Committee was able to get the largest wage increases that Sysco NM employees have ever seen and it was front loaded. Front loading means that the increase is compounded every year with the next increase and so on. Call your Business Agent Tracy McCarty at 505-344-1925 Ex 18 with any questions.
***If you know a Sysco member of Local 492 who is not receiving email updates from Local 492, forward this email to them and tell them to CLICK HERE to sign up or call Trey White at 505-344-1925 ex 15***
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