Summer is here, please keep an eye out for children around water and please note, drowning is the leading cause of death for children 1 to 4 years old.
As June comes to an end, the members of Reyes-owned Allied Beverage Beer Distributor located in Sylmar, overwhelmingly ratified a new three-year contract, 67 yes to 2 no.
To procure wages that would be acceptable to the members, the Union suggested splitting wages and getting increases every six months. This resulted in increasing the Company’s wage package by more than $2.00 per hour by the end of the contract. Drivers also received case incentives in years two and three, and the warehouse workers will remain the highest paid in the area! We were also able to add an additional holiday, now the members will have Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as one of their paid holidays without trading one away!
Thanks to the work by Business Agent, Francisco Avalos, who did an amazing job putting together information on the priorities of the workers going into these negotiations. Special thanks to the Allied Union Committee, Ron Battaglia, Nercisse Alkeine, Michael Flores, Javier Alcazar, Rusebel Arriaga, Ignacio Macias and Kenneth Barba for their participation and being the subject matter experts in these negotiations. Great work Brothers!
In July, the Local will be in negotiations for nine dispatchers working at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena. They came to the Local and asked our Local to represent them after decertifying from their previous Union a couple of years ago. We hope to have an agreement for them wrapped up in July.
Our Local will be saying goodbye to our Office Manager, Darlene Bradley, who has decided to retire at the end of July. Darlene has been a Teamster for 25+ years and our Local’s Office Manager for 11 years, having previously worked as a Teamster Union Clerical at the MillerCoors Brewery in Irwindale. I am very happy for Darlene and her well-deserved retirement, the Local is going to lose an amazing individual. Being one of the smaller locals in JC42, Darlene has always done more than just the job of Office Manager/Bookkeeper. As many of you know, Darlene was instrumental in helping us find the building in Pasadena where the Local calls home. She went above and beyond in fixing the place up and getting it ready for conducting business on one side of the building and getting the hall ready for Union meetings and more. She is often found cleaning the facility after meetings and even paints over graffiti on the walls outside the building! She has streamlined the process of meeting notes for strike-fund meetings and even E-board and Union meetings. There are so many things Darlene has done for this Local, it is impossible for me to list them all here. Darlene, thanks for all you have done for the members of Local 896 and enjoy your well-deserved retirement!
I want to congratulate Jorge Vasquez, who will be stepping into the roll of Office Manager/ Bookkeeper. Jorge began his tenure with our Local in 2017 as an Administrative Assistant then promoted to Member Coordinator. I have great confidence in Jorge, even though he has tremendous shoes to fill. Jorge has had the privilege of working with Darlene for many years, and I know she has taught him well!
Special thanks to Business Agent, Shaun Rodriguez, for his help with the fire victims of the Altadena fire. On June 12th, Shaun opened our Hall for a Tenant’s Rights Town Hall. There were over two hundred Altadena/Pasadena residents affected by the fire that came to hear speakers like Chris Holden, CEO for LA Fire Justice, Michael Leon, Teamster Local 911 President, Michael Yates President of Teamsters Local 665, San Francisco and Brandon Lamar, founder and CEO. Project Passion. There were also grants handed out for these neighbors that lost everything in the terrible fires that swept through so many neighborhoods up the street from our local. Shaun Rodriguez went above and beyond, putting in his personal time and effort to help so many people, great job Shaun!
With the KDP Victorville strike behind us, I reached out to the Company HR representative asking when they wanted to begin 7up Vernon/San Fernando negotiations. It appears we will be back at the table in August and looking to have a contract well before the current expiration date.
Special Condolence:
It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Johnny Finger, Brewing Chief Shop Steward, Irwindale Brew Yard. Johnny joined Local 896 in August of 2004 as a Brewer for the MillerCoors Brewery. Working there until the Brewery closed in late 2020, moving on in 2021 to work at Alta-Dena Dairy in May of 2021. A few months later, Johnny was offered a job back at the old Irwindale Brewery now owned by City Brewing, called the Irwindale Brew Yard, where Johnny soon became the Chief Steward for the Brewers of the facility. Johnny was an amazing person, always smiling and willing to help anyone that needed help. He was a great and caring person and steward and will be missed. Johnny is survived by his wife Lisa and daughter Lauren. The celebration of life for Johnny will be held at Newland House, 19820 Beach Blvd, Huntington Beach, on August 3rd at 2:00 pm. Johnny my brother, you will truly be missed.
Condolences:
Patsy Lopez (Retiree from Anheuser-Busch Van Nuys)
Ricardo Dawkins (Keurig Dr. Pepper Victorville)
Retirements:
Darlene Bradley (Teamsters Local Union 896)
Laura Zavala (Reyes Coca-Cola Los Angeles)
Michael Hunt (Anheuser-Busch Fairfield)
