Summer 2010 TEAMSTERS LOCAL 117 117 DOCK TALK News from the hardworking men and women of the grocery warehouse division Members of Teamsters Local 117

Teamsters Local 117: 14675 Interurban Ave. S, Suite 307 l Tukwila, WA 98168 (206) 441-4860 l www.teamsters117.org

Member In the Spotlight Andrew Johnson Safeway

eamsters Local 117 member, TAndy Johnson, learned the value of his Union from his family, but not in the way you might The “Master Agreement”: Building Union expect. For Johnson, Unions were not instinctual, part of his power through multi-employer bargaining lineage or in his blood. Instead, Johnson saw how his father was mistreated at work, with no easoned Teamsters in the Management looked at that stuff and pension and no job security, and grocery industry will remember it put pressure on the employer.” the day, not long ago, when his sister with a university degree S Union solidarity led to strong the Union bargained a so-called couldn’t afford health insurance. contracts and results on the wage “master agreement.” On again off and benefit line. As Teamsters JC “My dad worked for years in a again, from at least 1971 to 2003, the 28 President John Williams points Union engaged in negotiations with non-Union warehouse,” Johnson out, “We are able to command the as many as 13 companies at a time. highest levels of wages and benefits Unions conceived of multi-employer see Member, Page 3 in the country because all of the bargaining as a way to build power companies are at the same level.” and solidarity across the industry. But the Union did not exclusively “It created unity,” said Tom Gallwas, retired SuperValu employee and see Building Power, Page 8 former Business Representative at Gr o c e r y Ne g o t i a t i o n s Wo r k s h o p Teamsters Local 117. Haven’t been through contract negotiations in the grocery industry? “We all had buttons Come learn about the process and how you can get involved: and stickers. We were putting them on our July 18, 2010 @11am-1pm or 5pm-7pm clipboards, on our Teamsters Building, Tukwila coats, on our lockers. For more info., contact Jennifer Day at 206-441-4860 ext. 1222. Andy Johnson, Safeway at warehouse distribution centers. Lumpers demand respect, Most Lumpers receive no health care or retirement benefits, and some are paid by the unit, or “piecework”, fair conditions rather than on an hourly basis. This leads to sweatshop-like conditions, in Board to join the Union. which workers perform backbreaking “Lumpers united!” yelled the work while their compensation can Lumpers when they arrived at drop below minimum wage. each of the five locations. The “This is about fairness,” said Miguel reaction of the employer was Lizarrara, a Lumper at Unified Grocers mixed. At Unified Grocers, a who works for Roadlink, a lumping manager at Roadlink ran scared company with corporate headquar- when he saw the group, while ters in Chino Hills, . “We at Sysco a Best Loading repre- work side by side but earn a fraction sentative agreed to talk. of what other workers on the dock Best Loading Lumper, Josh Nagy, talks to KIRO reporter At Sysco, a reporter from KIRO are earning. They have health and retirement benefits; we do not.” “ nough already!” the Lumpers Channel 7 interviewed two Lumpers, including Rafael Hernandez, of Best are saying. On Friday, June 11, Lizarrara estimated that approxi- E Loading. “Just because we’re Latino Lumpers at five warehouses in mately 95% of the Lumpers in the doesn’t mean that we don’t have the grocery and food services indus- grocery and food services industries rights,” Hernandez said. “We have tries took a bold and important step in our area are Latino. toward gaining Teamsters represen- the same right to overtime, vaca- tation when they marched to con- tion, health insurance and retirement front their bosses and demand and as other warehouse workers in our end to exploitative working condi- industry.” A report on the action was televised later that evening. tions. Support the Lumpers! Lumpers took action at the Unified “We want to improve our quality of What can YOU do to help the Grocers distribution center in Seattle, life,” added Arnulfo Lopez, who works Lumpers become Teamsters? the Fred Meyer distribution center for Best Loading out of the Sysco warehouse in Kent. in Puyallup, the Safeway distribution Proudly wear the “We are all Lumpers” stickers. center in Auburn and the Sysco and Earlier in the week a group of Team- Food Services of America distribution ster order selectors at Food Services centers in Kent. of America showed their solidarity Talk up the Teamsters on the dock. Show your support! The objective of the action was to with the Lumpers and their distaste give notice to Best Loading, TW, and for Union busters when they tossed Roadlink that Lumpers are organized, out a goon hired by TW to spread lies Have lunch with a Lumper. know their rights and want to affili- and deceit about the Union. ate with the Teamsters. Last week, a Lumpers in the grocery and food Follow FSA’s lead - evict majority of Lumpers in our area peti- services industries are employed by Union busters who are bad- mouthing your UNION! tioned the National Labor Relations third-party carriers to unload cargo 2 | The 117 Warehouse | Summer 2010 stumbled into a Teamsters job at the Last year, he helped raise toys for Member new Safeway warehouse in Auburn. laid-off Teamsters as a part of the His life-long friend, Jeremy Walker, Teamsters for Tomorrow (TFT) Toy Spotlight cont. had tipped him off. “You’ve got to Drive. He also played an important come down here and apply,” his role in organizing last October’s TFT said. “He worked hard but didn’t friend had said. “It’s hard work, but Leadership Summit and is a delegate have any of the protections or the pay and benefits are incredible.” on the Pierce County Labor Council. benefits that I have. He and his co- This summer, Johnson will be joining workers tried to organize a couple Johnson got hired on at Safeway as the Teamsters Paint Tacoma-Pierce of times, but the company always an order selector and has been there Beautiful work crew as they paint threatened them, said they would ever since. “The work is non-stop, the home of a low-income, elderly close down and move to Mexico.” there is a lot of heavy lifting and the standards are tough, but I always resident of Pierce County. Still, Johnson didn’t grow up around remember what I am taking home.” Johnson saw what happened to Unions, so he didn’t go out looking his dad and his sister, how they for a Union job. His first job was at His five-year career as a Teamster struggled to make ends meet. Now the old Safeway on east hill in Kent has already begun to pay dividends: he says he’s a convert. He’s grateful where his parents had shopped for Johnson recently purchased his first to his Union and wants to give back. twenty years. He was a member home, on an acre in Spanaway for of UFCW, but he didn’t pay much himself, his wife, Heidi, and their “Getting this job was the best move attention to his Union. “My salary 16-month-old son, Landon. He I ever made. I want to see younger wasn’t great. I had health insurance, calculates that he will be able to folks get more involved. We are the so that was good, but I wasn’t retire at age 52 with a full pension. future of this Union.” involved.” From all accounts, Johnson has That all changed when Johnson been a tireless Union advocate.

From the shop floor Workers at four grocery warehouses were asked the following questions: “What will it take for Teamsters to get a fair contract in 2011?”

Romero Gomez Al Stipek Jesse Howard Jim Wise SuperValu Safeway Unified Grocers Fred Meyer

“We have a lot of “We need to follow “Health care is going “It’s going to take young guys down our leadership and to be a huge issue. solidarity and balls. here at SuperValu. present a united It’s going to take And we need to start We need to involve front, show the a willingness for communicating with them because they company that we everyone to figure each other because are our future.” can’t be divided.” out our position and we’re all in this then stick to it. ” together.”

Summer 2010 | The 117 Warehouse | 3 pany, , reporting a Fred Meyer Teamsters market capi- talization of $13.05 billion. show unity, strength Fred Meyer’s success clearly demonstrates Shop Steward , Matt that a strong, Collins, shows his support unionized workforce can outpace the non-union competition. The Union became energized last A leader of the janitors summer when campaign, Missy Orlean a previously unorganized group of jani- Fred Meyer Teamsters gather in support of the janitors organizing campaign. tors voted to join forces with ou know you are in a strong benefits or funeral leave, so there can Teamsters Local Union shop when members be a lot to talk about. I’ve even been 117. In solidar- can sit down face to face with able to get a couple of unfounded Y ity with the management and openly voice their write-ups erased at these meetings.” janitors, hun- Fred Meyer Teamster, Dan concerns in an effort to resolve issues At the June 8 meeting, the Stewards dreds of Union Gustafson at work. That is exactly what hap- brought a number of concerns to the members in the pens on a monthly basis at the Fred table including racking issues, replen- warehouse wore stickers supporting Meyer grocery warehouse distribu- ishing issues, seniority and how a the janitors in the weeks leading up tion center in Puyallup. volume slowdown after the Memo- to the election. As a part of regularly scheduled La- rial Day holiday was mishandled by Longtime Fred Meyer Teamster, Tim bor-Management meetings, Teamster management. Kirby, talked about why the support Shop Stewards along with Business Compared with some of the bad for the janitors was so strong. “We’re Representative, Cecil Fouts, discuss actors in the industry, Fred Meyer is all striving for the same thing – job operational issues with manage- fairly responsive addressing issues security and respect for ourselves ment. At a recent meeting on June 8, that members have brought forward. and our families,” he said. six Stewards took part including Les Liedtke, Cody Harris, Aaron Schrupp, “We want to ensure that the em- Maintaining the Union’s strength, Tommy Eidson, Allen Meier, and Matt ployer adheres to the contract, but through an organized Stewards’ net- Collins. we also want to point out operational work and a high degree of member- inefficiencies so that the company ship involvement, will be essential as “It’s a good platform for resolving is- remains profitable,” Fouts said. bargaining approaches in 2011. sues,” said Schrupp. “I have between 5-15 guys a day come to me with From all indications, the process From the looks of things, Teamsters at questions about things like seniority, has been effective: Business at Fred Fred Meyer are up to the challenge. Meyer is strong, with parent com- 4 | The 117 Warehouse | Summer 2010 At Unified Grocers, Local 117 members fight for respect

n the universe that is the grocery the last 30 years; namely, the ongo- ees, but so far little has changed. warehouse industry, some things ing contract violations that have The management still doesn’t show Ichange over the years, while oth- made the company “the grievance enough respect for its workers and ers remain maddeningly constant. capital of the Local.” often tries to undermine the contract. In the old days, when UG, under dif- “UG does not appear to respect our “It sounds all negative, but there are ferent ownership, was known as AG, contract,” he said. “That’s why we see some positives, too,” said Garcia. “On or “Associated Grocers,” you picked this abundance of grievances.” the dry grocery side where I work, orders off labels with a “pony and we’ve gotten pretty good at working trailer” and attached your load to a 1990 - the year of the AG strike things out with management, but “towline” that circled the warehouse Longtime Union members at UG will that definitely isn’t true everywhere to the dock. Forklift drivers had to remember 1990 as the year of the in the warehouse.” swing in to grab the trailer before the 9-week strike. The strike wasn’t over Despite the difficult working environ- next one rattled along. money, members say. It was about ment, UG membership has remained Nowadays, order selectors at UG pick respect. incredibly solid. with double pallet jacks using the Vo- “Back then, management was abus- “They have always been supportive collect system as they do elsewhere ing the language in the contract and of their Union,” said Rance. “You in the industry. The job is faster and pushing everything their way,” said have generations of Teamsters who much more demanding. Ken Garcia, who has been a Shop work there. These are guys who have “I think it’s fair to say that technol- Steward for 15 of his 21 years with faced adversity and won’t back down ogy is the biggest change that Union the company. “You’d get in trouble for from a fight.” members have seen since I worked anything and the guys were getting That is just the kind of attitude that there in the 1970s,” said Teamsters pissed off.” Union members in the grocery Local 117 Private Sector Coordinator Local 117 members were hopeful industry will need as we prepare for and former employee, Wil Rance. that the change of ownership in 2007 upcoming bargaining in 2011. Unfortunately, said Rance, there’s one would have a positive impact on the thing at UG that hasn’t changed in way the company treats its employ-

2010 Shop Steward Elections n preparation for upcoming negotiations in 2010, new postings for IShop Steward will go up. In addition to the day-to-day duties on the shop floor, some Stewards will serve on the negotiating committee. If you are interested in running for Shop Steward, look for the Steward election posting on your Union bulletin board and be sure to sign up. Elections will take place by the end of August.

Summer 2010 | The 117 Warehouse | 5 Safeway Teamsters win hard-fought success

move that will affect 80 Teamsters at Variety and 100 grocery members in Auburn. Safeway says it is on sched- ule to make the move this fall, before the busy holiday season. Local 117 plans to bargain with the company over the effects of the move on members in late June or early July. “We will be discussing se- niority rights and wage and pension disparity, among a number of other issues,” said Business Representative and new Local 117 President, John Scearcy. As bargaining with the $9.5 billion company commences now and Teamsters Local 117 members at Safeway celebrate 2008 lumper arbitration victory. again in 2011, Teamsters at Safeway will need to retain the resolve, grit afeway Teamsters work in a longtime Shop Steward, Al Stipek. and determination that they have new, state-of-the-art facility on “This time will be no different.” 116-acres in Auburn. The new demonstrated throughout the years S This kind of attitude has led to sev- if they are to achieve the success location boasts a 538,000-square- eral recent victories for Union mem- foot dry goods warehouse and a that has helped bring all members in bers at Safeway, including a ground- 515,000-sq-ft refrigerated warehouse. the grocery industry a strong Union breaking arbitration case, in which Together with a recycling center, contract. an arbitrator overruled a company trucking department, dispatch office, decision to allow subcontractors to fuel station, truck repair shop, and ad- operate forklifts when unloading ministration center, the site is impos- third-party carriers. ing. A massive, 2 1/2-year construc- tion project preceded its opening in “This victory benefits not just the 2005. members at Safeway, but every Union member working in the gro- As colossal as the facility is, Safeway cery industry,” said Local 117 Secre- Teamsters are masters of their new tary-Treasurer, Tracey A. Thompson. surroundings. The warehouse is full Shop Steward, Bill Shop Steward, Mike of diehard Unionists with countless In April 2008, the Teamsters scored Barnett Holden years of experience between them. another victory at Safeway when two Indeed, Local 117 members at Safe- receiving clerks, Stephanie Mercado way have been a driving force behind and Jessica Holt, voted to join the their Union’s unparalleled success in Union. the grocery industry. Despite the recent successes, there “When bargaining rolls around, we’re is also a degree of uncertainty that ready. We fill out questionnaires, set looms over Local 117 members at up phone trees, talk to each other Safeway. The company has decided about the need to stand behind our to merge its Variety warehouse in leadership,” said 39-year member and Bellevue with the Auburn facility, a Receiving clerks, Jessica Holt and Stephanie Mercado 6 | The 117 Warehouse | Summer 2010 SuperValu members build on a rich history hough SuperValu is still con- tics and Unions had sidered a relative newcomer to fight back. “Back Order Selector, Shane Plumley Tto the Tacoma grocery scene, then, there were no its predecessor, West Coast Grocery bargaining commit- (Wesco), had been a Tacoma main- tees and no Shop stay since Charles H. Hyde founded Stewards,” Gallwas the company in 1891. said. “Members didn’t participate In its infancy, Wesco shipped thou- in the process like sands of tons of foodstuffs north to they do today.” during the Klondike Goldrush. One of the trademark brand names Nowadays, Super- for the company was “AMOCAT” Valu has an accom- (Tacoma reversed), still visible on the plished and expe- SuperValu Teamster, Joe Anthony Shop Steward, John Morris south side of the original warehouse rienced group of building on Pacific Avenue in down- Shop Stewards who town Tacoma. vigilantly enforce the contract. SuperValu acquired Wesco in 1985 and has prospered to become a $2.84 John Morris is a billion company and the leading gro- Supervalu Steward cery wholesaler in the United States, who has been in the supplying products to more than role since 1993. “My 4,200 stores, including , job is to support the , , Bigg’s, Cub Union and work to Foods, among many others. defend the mem- bers’ rights,” Morris Local 117 members at SuperValu of Teamster veterans Rich Cieplik (l) and Doug Larson (r) said. “This company a more senior ilk will remember the went from a family-owned to big rocky transition from Wesco to Su- business overnight and we’ve had to perValu in the mid 1980s. According adapt.” to former SuperValu employee and retired Local 117 Business Represen- With negotiations coming up next tative, Tom Gallwas, companies at year, building solidarity will be key to that time started trying to break the the Union’s success. Union. “We need to stick together,” said new “Reagan had just fired the air-traffic Shop Steward, Greg Wiest. “We all controllers and it was a tough time need to be on the same page so that for Unions,” Gallwas said. we can win a strong contract.” Companies were using cutthroat tac- Summer 2010 | The 117 Warehouse | 7 with the group. Since the inception if we decide to Building Power of multi-employer bargaining, bargain together Cont. from page 1 other employers have insisted on or separately, we autonomy, usually at their own peril. must recognize benefit from the multi-employer the value of In 1986, West Coast Grocery (Wesco), approach. Area standards and parity area standards now SuperValu, hired a union busting with respect to labor costs meant and the need attorney, but to little effect. That that companies didn’t have to worry for all of us year, the Union responded by quickly that one of their competitors was in the industry to stick together,” sealing a 1-year deal with Safeway getting a better deal. It allowed said Teamsters Local 117 Secretary- before achieving a short-term companies to hone their business Treasurer, Tracey Thompson. and focus on other aspects of contract with Associated Grocers “To achieve the best results, operations. shortly thereafter. Wesco ultimately accepted the terms set forth in the each workplace needs to be Unfortunately, not all companies other agreements. well-organized and establish a have always understood the value of communications system,” Williams The Union has fought to preserve a level playing field. said. “We need to trust our Union area standards through the because our legacy of an area The most recent fracturing of the present-day grocery contracts, standard has produced strong multi-employer contract occurred in but it has not been easy. It has contracts and strong solidarity across 2003 when Associated Grocers (AG), taken unity, strength, participation, the board.” now Unified Grocers, decided to go and organization on the part of it alone. In doing so, AG threatened generations of determined, in many the level playing field that had cases, heroic, Teamsters. developed throughout the industry. With 2011 bargaining in the grocery AG’s departure was not the first time industry fast approaching, that is an employer had severed relations important to remember. “No matter

Teamsters Local 117 14675 Interurban Ave. S., Suite 307 Tukwila, WA 98168 206-441-4860 1-888-872-3489 www.teamsters117.org

Mark your Calendars! July 18 - Grocery Contract Negotiations Seminar July 24-25 – Ethnic Fest (Help staff the Union table at Tacoma’s cultural heritage festival) July/Aug. - Paint Tacoma Beautiful (Paint the home of low-income Tacoma resident.) Aug. 1 - Solidarity Day (Free tickets to the Tacoma Rainiers’ game!)

WANTED! Reporters, writers, photographers and other Teamsters in the grocery industry who are interested in contributing to this newsletter. For more information, contact Local 117 Communications Coordinator, Paul Zilly at 206.441.4860 ext. 1269.

For more Teamsters news, visit the Local 117 website at www.teamsters117.org. Connect with other Local 117 members on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.