Teamsters Victories Newsletter – June 2021

Workers Win with Local 2010!

It’s been a busy few months for Teamsters Local 2010. Even as we prepare for bargaining on some of our biggest contracts this year and next, we’ve been hard at work supporting each other as we fight for our rights and benefits in the workplace. Read on for more info about our most recent Teamsters victories across the state!

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Layoffs Rescinded at UCSD!

Teamsters Local 2010 is overjoyed to announce that Tamara Totten and Ashley Brunson, two Local 2010 members who were the victims of improper and unfair layoffs at UCSD, have won the option to resume employment at UCSD and received full back pay, including restoration of their PTO and retirement levels to what they would be if they had not been laid off in August 2020. 

This was a grueling 10-month fight, and one that truly united all of Local 2010’s organizers and allies in the fight for Tamara and Ashley. We filed multiple grievances and legal cases against UCSD and worked with San Diego-area media, including the UCSD student newspaper, to highlight the University’s improper actions. We also reached out to 1,200 UCSD Health physicians, whose decision to work at UCSD is considered so critical to the health center’s reputation, to make them aware of their employer’s disregard for its employees. It took 10 months longer than it should have, but UCSD finally listened to reason in June.

Click here to read the article about Tamara and Ashley’s dismissals, published by UCSD’s The Guardian student newspaper in December 2020.

Thank you, USAS!

We want to give a special thanks to United Students Against Sweatshops for their help on this campaign. USAS worked with Local 2010 on a social media onslaught against UCSD that lasted from August to June, including circulating a petition that collected nearly 1,500 signatures! It truly took a village to get justice for Tamara and Ashley, and we can’t thank all of our supporters and allies enough for their help achieving this victory.

Lump Sum Payouts for 58 Members!

Local 2010 is proud to announce that we negotiated a settlement for a lump sum grievance with 58 current members in the works to receive up to $600 dollars!

Our Union filed a systemwide grievance in August 2017 on behalf of all Bargaining Unit members when we became aware that the University failed to properly pay the contract ratification lump sum bonus to less than full-time workers. These workers, whose average actual hours worked were more than their part-time appointments called for, were unfairly overlooked and did not receive the full bonus they were owed. 

The 58 workers included in this settlement are in the process of receiving their payment and have been contacted by their Union Representatives to ensure that the University pays them what they are owed.

Undoing Unfair Layoffs at CSU Monterey Bay!

Congratulations to our CSU Monterey Bay member Pablo Morales, who has been reinstated to full-time work after the CSU needlessly forced him into half-time in August 2020. Despite Pablo’s dedicated work repairing and maintaining CSUMB’s auto fleet, he was issued a layoff notice last year as the university claimed decreased workloads due to the pandemic. Local 2010 immediately stepped in, interviewing Pablo’s coworkers in the auto shop and across campus to find the truth: the auto shop was as busy as ever despite the pandemic.

We immediately filed a grievance on Pablo’s behalf, fighting through the process for months as the University continued to deny wrongdoing. Finally, in June of this year, as we promised the University we’d take Pablo’s case to arbitration, CSUMB agreed to settle. Pablo was restored to full-time hours, given $3,000 in back pay, and 80 hours of CTO! Congratulations to Pablo on his return to the employment hours and pay he deserves!

Senior ESAs join the Union! 

Welcome to the Teamsters, Senior Employee Services Associates! Senior ESAs at the University of California joined our CX Unit in April, immediately gaining all the rights and protections of our current CX contract. Now our new brothers and sisters are bargaining for better wages at the UC. We’re glad to have them standing with us!

“Across California, Teamsters 2010 members have been standing strong to protect our rights during the pandemic and beyond. With our contracts coming open over the next year, it’s more important than ever to stand together as Teamsters so we can win fair contracts.”
Jason Rabinowitz
Secretary-Treasurer
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