Another ‘Defining Year’ Awaits Teamsters in 2012

Joint Council 25 Readies for Global Partnerships, National Elections, Local Campaigns

Whether securing Teamster representation for scores of new members, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity, strengthening labor relations overseas or commemorating its 100th anniversary, Teamsters Joint Council 25 made a profound impact on both the international and local level in 2011.

The year ahead is expected to be no different. Just days into 2012, the Joint Council and its 19 local affiliates are gearing up for 12 months of organizing campaigns, pivotal elections and strategic partnerships to ensure long-term progress for the union and its members.

“We’ve come so far on the foundation of a century of hard work, but it’s what we do now that will determine how far we go,” said John T. Coli, President of Joint Council 25. “The Teamsters will be on the offensive in the year to come to protect what our members have earned and forge new possibilities for the opportunities available to them.”

Teamsters Travel to China
The Joint Council furthered its gains in 2011 to empower the labor movement beyond the borders of northern Illinois and northwest Indiana. In the fall, Coli traveled with Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn to three major cities across China as part of a trade mission to increase local investment and broaden international labor relations. Alongside Teamsters Local 700 Secretary-Treasurer Becky Strzechowski, Coli met in September in Beijing with representatives from China’s Shandong Provincial Federation of Trade Unions (SPFTU).

One year prior, in the fall of 2010, Joint Council 25 signed an official memorandum of exchange with the SPFTU to promote more cooperation between organized labor in China and the United States. The recent meeting in Beijing was supplemental to biannual visits to China the Joint Council will begin this year, but proved an uncommon opportunity to examine issues affecting workers abroad and share information on organizing, collective bargaining and member protection.

“The Joint Council was honored to participate in Gov. Quinn’s trade mission, not only in our role as a powerful American union, but as a champion of workers’ rights everywhere,” said Coli. “The more of a dialogue we create with workers overseas, the more we can learn about protecting families in need and establishing permanent, good-paying jobs here at home.”

Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa is expected to join Coli and the Joint Council 25 delegation as it makes its first official visit to the Shandong Province in 2012. In addition to meeting with SPFTU representatives over a weeklong period, the delegation plans to interact directly with union members throughout eastern China. With the Shandong Province home to approximately 95 million people, Joint Council leaders hope to explore its diverse agricultural and petroleum industries, as well as tour some of its largest employers of union labor, including General Motors and Tsingtao beer.

During the state’s trade mission in September, Coli and Strzechowski participated in various Invest in Illinois presentations throughout Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. They also met with traveling delegations from the United Food and Commercial Workers and the Service Employees International Union, examining the structures of Chinese labor systems.

“The collective bargaining rights of a Chinese automotive worker may not be the same as a Chicago truck driver, but they nonetheless tell us something about the protections men and women need at work,” said Coli. “What more can we do for our members? How can workers earn and save more money? How do we improve minority rights or immigration policies? These are questions we can answer by better communicating with each other.”

Affiliates Protect Member Benefits
Back in the Midwest, Teamsters are already preparing to combat potential legislative threats to member protections in Illinois and Indiana. Teamsters Local 142 this week is traveling to Indianapolis as state legislators reconvene in their general session on Wednesday with a right-to-work proposal on the table. Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican, has publicly vowed to sign such legislation into law should it pass the state House and Senate this month.

The Teamsters International hosted a tele-town hall conference call with General President Hoffa to combat the right-to-work measures on Thursday, Jan. 5. Members throughout Illinois and Indiana participated in the call and were encouraged to contact state lawmakers to oppose any new bill.

Local 142 also hosted an informative training at its union hall in Gary, Ind., on Sunday, Jan. 8. More than 500 members and supporters turned out to receive more information on the financial and economic damages of right-to-work laws, and speak directly with participating Indiana representatives.

In Illinois, Local 700 continues to monitor any return to irresponsible pension proposals that threatened public employees in 2011. With lawmakers heading back to Springfield on Jan. 31, the Teamsters’ public employee union is urging members to contact their representatives with the reminder that any change or reduction to existing pension benefits for current workers is a direct violation of the Illinois constitution.

“No Reason to Stop Now”
“Teamster leaders from each of our local unions aren’t going to let their guards down,” said Coli. “This year is just a few days old and already we’re seeing continuing measures to strip rights and wages from working people. What happened last year in states like Wisconsin and Ohio cannot be repeated, and the Teamsters will do everything in our power to make sure elected officials realize that.”

As affiliates continue to tackle local issues, the political arm of Joint Council 25 will remain busy throughout 2012. Should Gov. Daniels succeed in signing right-to-work legislation, the Republican lawmaker could face an uphill battle for re-election this year. State offices throughout Indiana, including Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General, will be up for grabs in November. That same month will also see the culmination of the national Presidential election, all U.S. congressional spots, as well as the election of every state seat in the Illinois House and Senate. Primaries for the Illinois seats will be held in March.

In the Chicago area, the Joint Council will closely monitor candidates in this year’s race for Cook County Circuit Clerk and representatives for the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.

“Protecting our members’ interests at all costs will ensure 2012 is a defining year for Joint Council 25,” said Coli. “The Teamsters Union is known the world over for delivering the strongest contracts possible and making the most significant gains in organized labor. There’s no reason to stop now.”

Teamsters Joint Council 25 represents more than 100,000 hardworking men and women throughout Illinois and northwest Indiana.

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