How to get a Union Job

good to see a third gen teamster. some like unions, some don't. i've been with local 17 out of denver for many years. before that it was #25 out of boston. i never was very political(went to work and did my bid then went home) I voted every contract and on the issues of the day.I love the work and most of the folks i met along the way. I'm an old cf guy. now i'm just working towards my retirement. Good day.

 

I prefer the "At Will/Right to Work" model. My dealings with union workers have been good, it's the politics and union bosses I disagree with.

I will say this though, reading this has been very beneficial. The topic of Unions is a hot one and usually winds up in a name-calling hissy fit from both sides. This discussion has been calm, logical, and oddly enough, informative.

Also, the jokes were tolerated much better than I expected on this or any forum.

My $0.02

 

The guys at Branch used to carry a gun when they drove into Boston. That was many years ago. A lot has changed since then. I am afraid it's not for the best though because we have guys taking jobs for $0.11/mile these days.

 

The scabs get the same benefits as the Union members. Free load scabs wouldn't get those benefits if it wasn't for the Union. Go wark for non-union scabs and you will sish you had a Union.

 

You voiced a desire to help anyone reach the level of satisfaction you have. HELP! My darling husband has reached his frustration point with the way things have played out for him as a newish driver. He spent 18 mos driving a straight truck, and now 11 mos driving tractor trailer. The two tractor trailer positions paid less than minimum wage, when compared to hourly. I am furious with the situation. He busts his #####, is barely ever here, and we get diddly squat out of the deal.

I am of the opinion that he needs to get a union job. Help me find one for him. He's on the road all the time, so I need to do this for us.

 

Tankstar has a few union terminals. You do the research.

 

Thanky much!!!

 

He can start by going down to his local Teamster hall and signing the books. I'm not sure about other halls but mine had two books, "A" and "B". New members are on the B book until they have one year with the Teamsters and then if you lose your job after one year you go to the "A" book. Jobs were filled from the "A" list first and then they went to the "B" list. If you are ever on a construction job or such and make foreman status you will be designated as such for future jobs. Teamsters cover warehousemen too. If you have your class A's you also get that designation and it can move you up on the list depending on the job.

That's how my particular hall worked. Most of our jobs were temporary construction and outage jobs at the area nuclear plants. We use to have Roadway but they moved out of the area. We also had the worlds longest nuclear plant construction project. When it was completed Teamster jobs got real thin and a whole bunch of drivers with no where to go. So depending on where you live is the availability of union jobs. My union hall called me once since the big layoff to work one month over Christmas at a shirt factory. I had to live and pay bills. That's why I went OTR. If the jobs are in your area all is good. When they disappear, oh well. So much for the brotherhood.

 

Thank you. I will pass that along to him. Since I'm in accounting, and its tax season, he has the ability to wait for a little bit for a job. Not long though... his OTR experience has left us in over our heads financially. How dominant are the low per mile rates? I am currently seeing red because he is only able to send home about $250 a week, and still eat himself. I realize he's got to get some more time under his belt, but this is insane!! How can people live on 32cpm???

 

You should post your location so folks that "might" know can point you in the right direction. Also, in some area's, you can have driving jobs that are "based" out of more than one union hall, like Local 54, Local 30 etc so keep that in mind.