Teamsters at ICS gather outside our Union Hall in Tukwila after voting unanimously to authorize a strike.

Teamsters at Industrial Container Services (ICS) are not backing down. After months of being bullied by their employer in contract negotiations, the group is fighting back. Today after an update from their union committee on the company’s substandard proposals, members voted unanimously to authorize a strike. 

With the vote, the group sends an unequivocal message to their employer that they are united and won’t be jerked around. “All of us are united in demanding that they negotiate fairly,” said Abel Flores, a nine-year employee at the company. “We need them to respect our rights, and we need to see improvements in their proposals.”

ICS wants members to take a major step backwards on their health and welfare coverage while at the same time they want to hitch members' wages to the minimum required under the law.  They’ve even tried to divert previously agreed to retirement contributions from the existing contract into their new wage proposals.

The group is not having any of it. “It’s not fair that they’re treating us like this, under these conditions,” said Iduviges Castro Sanchez, an eight-year employee. “If they won’t come to a fair agreement with our Union, we’re ready to strike.” 

"If they won’t come to a fair agreement with our Union, we’re ready to strike."

Teamsters at ICS are no stranger to a fight. In 2014, they showed tremendous courage in standing up to their employer to get organized. 

Before joining Teamsters 117, the workers’ only water source was a rusty pipe. Their break room was a filthy wreck of battered lockers, and they had no sanitary place to wash their hands. These abhorrent conditions were worsened by a workplace rife with toxic chemicals workers are exposed to as they sanitize and refurbish barrels containing industrial waste. 

With a Union, workers had a voice over their wages and working conditions. Joining Teamsters also led to extraordinary changes including a new break room, new lockers, and a new, clean water dispensary. Now the company is provoking the workers once again, and like before, the workers are prepared to stand up and fight.

The spring issue of our Guardian newsletter for Teamsters at the DOC is hot off the press!

In this issue, you'll find an overview of our goals for the 2019 legislative session in Olympia as well as the status of the bills we are tracking. 

Other highlights include a tribute to Richard Coleman, an officer at the Washington State Penitentiary, who is retiring this month as well as the announcement of Legislative Director Brenda Wiest as the new Vice President of our Union's Executive Board. 

You can view the new Guardian online here. Print copies will be distributed over the next few weeks by a committee of shop stewards and member leaders.

If you would like to volunteer to help distribute the Guardian or have an article to contribute, please reach out to your Union Representative.  

In Olympia, nurses from across the state are standing together to support a law that would make our workplaces safer. The proposed legislation (HB 1155/SB 5190) would allow front-line caregivers to take uninterrupted meal and rest breaks.

At DOC, fatigue isn’t just a worker issue, it’s a safety issue. When DOC medical staff are chronically exhausted and overworked, the safety of the entire facility is put at risk.

Employers and management are trying to weaken protections for nurses by introducing a competing bill (SB 5344) that doesn’t solve the problem. We need to reject that proposal and send a resounding message to legislators that we support safer, more secure conditions for DOC nursing staff.

TAKE ACTION NOW! Find your legislators online, and send them an email telling them to support HB 1155 and SB 5190 and oppose SB 5344. You can copy and paste the message below or draft your own message. 

Dear [LEGISLATOR NAME]
I am writing to ask you to support HB 1155 and SB 5190 and oppose SB 5344. I think it is important you hear from front-line patient care providers who would be impacted by this law. When I don’t get my breaks or lunches, I don’t have time to go to the bathroom, eat, or just rest my feet for 15 minutes. At DOC, when I am this overworked my safety and that of my co-workers is put at risk. SB 5344 does not address fatigue for nurses and leaves out other front-line providers that desperately need a solution as well. This bill continues to leave caregivers like me working in conditions that are unsafe. After ten years of trying to pass this law, it is time to act for the safety of workers and our communities. Thank you for your time, please support HB 1155 and SB 5190, and oppose SB 5344, which aims to weaken these efforts.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]

Thank you for standing together with Teamster nurses!

Secretary-Treasurer John Scearcy (l), Organizing Co-Director Pedro Olguin (c), and Tyson Lapilio (r) at the Memphis MLK March

Tyson Lapilio, a Teamster at Republic Services, joined Local 117 Secretary-Treasurer John Scearcy and Organizing Co-Director Pedro Olguin in Memphis for the Teamsters Solid Waste & Recycling Division conference earlier this month. Lapilio penned this excellent piece capturing his experiences at the event:

Marching in Memphis: Lessons from the Teamsters Solid Waste Conference
By Tyson Lapilio, Local 117 members at Republic Services

During the week of January 21, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Memphis and attend the 2019 Teamsters Solid Waste & Recycling Division conference.

The date and location hold a symbolic meaning for the waste division as this was the location of the Memphis sanitation strike of 1968.  It was also the location and week of the death of Dr. King, the famed leader of the Civil Rights Movement who supported the sanitation workers in Memphis. 

While here, I got to participate in an MLK march from Memphis to the National Civil Rights Museum.  I saw the passion for justice and equality pouring out from the participants and bystanders of the parade.

This was followed by two days in attendance at the waste division conference where we discussed many things related to the waste workers of the Teamsters Union. The discussion included topics that affect the waste division such as industry fundamentals, bargaining techniques, legal challenges under the current administration, the importance of politics, and civil rights relating to the Teamsters Union to name a few.

My takeaway from all this as a rank-and-file member? I've witnessed that the Teamsters Union has an assortment of experts, lawyers, industry insiders along with thoughts and ideas on the local and national level. These people have come together to share and strategize a plan of attack to propel the Teamsters onward in these irresolute times.

It's also clear that Local 117 and our leadership are respected across the nation. John Scearcy’s leadership style and connections with labor leaders really stood out to me.

The thoughts and information shared along with the passion shown throughout the week give me confidence that our union is working hard for its members, the members that are essential to making this possible. 

Rebecca Libadia has been in the union world since 2001. For 14 years she worked with the administration of Labor Relations at the Port of Seattle during the reconstruction and modernization of the Sea-Tac International Airport. There, she got to know all sides of a union contract.

After years of experience, a job for Rebecca must ethically align with her convictions, and that was one of her motivations for taking on the role of a dues clerk with Local 117.

Rebecca and her husband have two children with whom she shares a love for sports, especially the Mariners and Seahawks. In her spare time, Rebecca also cares for her quirky and intelligent Chesapeake Bay retriever and likes to catch a break with a good book.

Welcome to the team, Rebecca. We wish you the best of luck on your journey with Teamsters!

Good news from Olympia! Our legislation to grant interest arbitration rights to our members at the Department of Corrections (DOC) and the University of Washington Police Department (UWPD) (SB5021/SB5022) cleared a first, important hurdle in the Senate yesterday when the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee unanimously voted to pass both bills out of committee.

Our UWPD bill (HB1043) was also favorably passed out of the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee yesterday on a vote of 6-1. The House committee has not yet taken executive action on our DOC interest arbitration bill (HB1042), but we anticipate that will happen soon.

Because both bills will have an impact on the state budget, the bills that cleared their respective committees yesterday will now be sent to fiscal committees in the House (Appropriations) and Senate (Ways & Means), where we will have another opportunity to testify. We will update you when those hearings are scheduled.

Yesterday we also introduced our bill that will amend current statute to authorize trained DOC staff who have been subject to a background check in the last five years to carry a concealed weapon. This fix will restore a right that was taken away due to a problem with the RCW that invalidated our Peace Officer Identification Cards. The new bill (HB1589) has bipartisan support with twenty co-sponsors and will be considered by the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee.

Please take a moment to thank the Senators on the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee for recognizing the need for interest arbitration for DOC and UWPD by sending a quick email or calling their offices. Thanks also to the members who took time out of their busy schedules to give powerful testimony on the bills.

The Teamsters 117 Executive Board has unanimously voted to appoint Brenda Wiest as its new Vice-President effective February 1, 2019.

Brenda will succeed former Vice-President and Union Representative Marcus Williams, who announced that he is planning for a possible relocation at the end of the year.

“I love this union and I am humbled and honored to have been asked to serve on our Executive Board,” Wiest said. “I am committed to building power and unity among all of our members through strong contracts, growth, community involvement, and legislative change.”

Brenda, who has been on the Local 117 staff for 15 years, will continue to serve as our union’s Legislative Director. She has excelled in that role through her work with lawmakers and our labor allies to craft and move policy that benefits workers across Washington State.

"I love this union and I am humbled and honored to have been asked to serve on our Executive Board."

Prior to stepping into that role in 2014, Brenda led organizing drives, contract campaigns, and strikes to build member power and win strong contracts at places like UNFI, Waste Management, and Davis Wire.

Brenda is active in the labor movement and her community. She has been a delegate on the Pierce County Central Labor Council for the last 12 years and has served on the PCCLC Executive Board for the last six. She is also a labor representative on the Labor and Industries Workers’ Compensation Advisory Committee and a participant on the Union Labels and Lists Committee.

She was appointed as a citizen and labor voice to the Tacoma 2025 Advisory Committee to build a strategic plan to guide the City of Tacoma for the next 10 years.

“Brenda is an extremely talented, committed, and experienced labor leader. We are thrilled to welcome her to our union’s Executive Board,” said John Scearcy, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters 117.

Wearing our union colors down in Olympia for the interest arbitration hearings on January 17.

With the 2019 legislative session kicking off in Olympia this week, bills that would grant interest arbitration rights to our Department of Corrections (DOC) and University of Washington Police Department (UWPD) members are already starting to move. 

Several Teamsters provided powerful testimony supporting both bills today in hearings before the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee and the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee. 

Michelle Woodrow, our union's President and Director of Corrections & Law Enforcement, laid out our case for interest arbitration before legislators:

DOC and law enforcement employees perform one of the most stressful, dangerous jobs in the United States... Interest arbitration will ensure these employees are treated with the same respect as other public safety professionals by ensuring a level playing field in negotiations...

Interest arbitration is a right commonly available to public safety employees such as the Washington State Patrol who do not have the ability to strike. It allows our union to move mandatory subjects of bargaining to a neutral third-party arbitrator should we reach impasse in negotiations.

At the DOC, we achieved interest arbitration through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the Governor in 2014 and negotiated it into our contract, but it has not been codified in statute. Our members at the UWPD have never had access to these rights.

Without access to interest arbitration, members like Officers Mark Hackett and Marvin McKinney of the UWPD have struggled to obtain critical safety gear to protect themselves in the line of duty. 

For Sergeant Jason Heuer and Officer James Deuel of the DOC, passing interest arbitration means securing their rights into the future. "It’s critical that we win this in statute because otherwise it can just be taken away...," they said.  

Thank you to our members who took time out of their busy schedules to travel to Olympia to testify. 

• You can view the House testimony on TVW here
• The Senate testimony can be viewed online here 
• Track our bills: HB1042 (DOC), HB1043 (UWPD), SB5021 (DOC), SB5022(UWPD)

As session continues, there will be more hearings on these bills and more opportunities to make your voice heard. Passing interest arbitration for DOC and UWPD will require excellent participation at our upcoming Lobby Day on February 26-27. It will also require all of us coming together to educate legislators about the critical public safety work we perform.

Looking for a meaningful way to spend the upcoming MLK weekend? Come out and march for justice with other members of Teamsters 117.

Groups of Teamsters will be participating in both the Seattle Women’s March on Saturday, January 19 and the MLK March on Monday, January 21.

Look for Teamster banners and signs at the following times and locations:

SEATTLE WOMEN’S MARCH
Saturday, January 19  - 9:00am-11:00am
Cal Anderson Park (1635 11^th Avenue, Seattle)

To meet up with other Teamsters, contact your union representative or reach out to Talisa Boad at 360-722-0891.

MLK DAY MARCH & RALLY
Monday, January 21 – 12:30pm-1:30pm
Garfield High School (400 23^rd Ave. Seattle)

To march with Teamsters, contact your union representative or reach out to Karen Estevenin at 206-794-8471.

Both events further our mission as a union that builds power and unity for all working people to improve lives and lift up our communities. 

As the late, great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr said: “We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.”

It’s political season again, as lawmakers in Washington State have headed back to Olympia for the start of the 2019 legislative session. This is a budget year, which calls for a long session – 105 days, running from January 14 through April 28, 2019. 

Over the last few years, our union has built a strong voice in Olympia. Participation at our annual lobby day has grown from a few dozen a decade ago to over 200 members and their families at last year’s event.  With a stronger voice, we’ve been able to achieve legislative change that has benefited workers across our state. We’ve funded contracts for state employees and passed bills that have made our workplaces safer and more secure.

Our collective power is a direct result of member involvement, and in 2019 there will be plenty of opportunities to get involved.