IN THIS ISSUE: FOUNDING LOBBY DAY!Page 2. Secretary-Treasurer’s Report, Brian Aldes

Spring 2013 Edition Volume XVI - Issue #1

Find Teamsters Local 320 on Facebook.com/ Teamsters.local.320On Twitter at Twitter.com/ibt_320

PLEASE NOTE: May 2013 General Membership Meeting and Appreciation Night is set for Tues, May 21 on Third Floor Meeting Room at MN Teamsters Bldg 3001 University Ave S.E. Minneapolis, MN 55414 6:00pm Dinner - Meeting Afterward Door Prizes - Gift for All Members

LOCAL 320 SECRETARY-TREASURER’S REPORT

STEPPING IT UP!

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By Brian Aldes

Our Local Union is on the offensive! We are taking every available political advantage to better serve the membership.

Local 320 kicked off its founding Lobby Day on February 6th with over 30 Team-sters in attendance and over 40 legisla-tive meetings throughout the day.

Every Teamster Local 320 member who participated at Lobby Day had an oppor-tunity to meet with their state legislators. According to our exit surveys, everyone who participated thought it beneficial and had a positive experience.

We led critical meetings with important committee chairs such as House and Senate Judiciary, House Public Safety, House Higher Education, and Senate State and Local Government.

I led an excellent discussion between Teamster public defense employees and House Judiciary Committee Chairwomen Rep. Debra Hilstrom (DFL) on the public defense budget. Prior to our discussion, Rep. Hilstrom informed us that one of her grandparents was a striker in the legend-ary 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters Strike.

Rep. Hilstrom made it clear that she is an ardent supporter of the Teamsters Union and Minnesota workers. She assured public defense employees that she is fighting to provide equity for employees within the state judicial system.

Teamsters at the U of M and MnSCU met with House Higher Education Committee Chairman Rep. Gene Pelowski (DFL) and made the case for adequate funding.

Law Enforcement Teamsters met with House Public Safety Chairman Michael Paymar (DFL) to discuss protecting the PERA P & F Fund and promoting our Local Union’s bill for all injuries of Correctional Officers in jails to be reported to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Among our Local Union’s top legislative priorities is to place Security Officers, Pro-bation Officers and 911 Dispatchers into the Correctional Pension Plan. This prior-ity will boost retirement benefits for all the aforementioned groups should it become law at the state level.

At present, our Local Union’s lobbyist is working the halls of the State Capitol to gather political support and legisla-tive sponsors for the bill. We have been informed that securing this legislation is an uphill battle. Many employers, in addi-tion to some legislators, have raised fiscal concerns. Teamsters Local 320 remains committed to its’ legislative priorities and will continue to build support for this bill at the State Legislature.

Lastly, I was involved in the tenuous nego-tiations for Assistant Public Defenders and Public Defender Support Staff. Through hours of mediation we were able to forge an acceptable agreement which increased employee compensation by 4.5%. In spite of the current settlement, I must continue to press the importance of public defense employees participating in the political process and future contract campaigns.

All indications demonstrate that the Board of Public Defense will continue to play hardball with step increases. We must remain alert and we must be prepared!

SUPPORTING OUR FUTURE!

LOCAL 320 PRESIDENT’S REPORT

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By Joanne Derby

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters and Local 320 supports the education and betterment of its mem-bership and their families. That is why we are happy to provide an array of educational scholarships.

Please review Teamsters scholarship information on our website and apply at www.teamsterslocal320.org under the ‘member resources’ tab or call 1-800-637-5430. Make sure to check the due dates. The Local 320 application is due March 31.

Each scholarship has different eligibility requirements and all selected applicants will be determined by lot. If you have any questions which pertain to any of the Teamsters scholarships please contact us at 1-800-637-5430 or local320@teamsterslocal320.org

Public Defense Employees Ratify Settlements

All Employees will receive one step increase on July 1, 2011 or on their start dates if hired

after July 1, 2011

2% one-time lump sum

Attorney license fees will be reimbursed, prorated for FTE, starting June 30, 2013

$250 increase to all steps on June 30, 2013 for support staff

NEW LEADERSHIP ON D.R.I.V.E. COMMISSION

LOCAL 320 VICE PRESIDENT’S/ D.R.I.V.E. REPORT

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By Sami Gabriel In February I was appointed President of the Teamsters Joint Council 32 D.R.I.V.E. Commission.

D.R.I.V.E. is the Teamsters political action committee. MN D.R.I.V.E. (Democrat Re-publican Independent Voter Education) is OUR political action committee. Active and retired members support D.R.I.V.E. through their financial contributions and volunteer efforts.

We screen and recommend candidates for city, state, and federal offices based on their voting records and willingness to commit to a pro-worker agenda. Since the Teamsters are famously independent, our endorse-ments span the political spectrum.

The MN D.R.I.V.E. Commission multiplies our influence by working with the IBT’s National D.R.I.V.E. Office on labor-friendly issues in the U.S. Senate and Congress.

This is a historic moment for our Union as I am the first officer of Local 320 to be Presi-dent of the D.R.I.V.E. Commission. I am committed to bring our public employee’s concerns to the political table.

On February 27th we enlisted the help of Local 320 Assistant Public Defender Robert Kolstad to testify on our behalf in support of Governor Dayton’s budget proposal. He tes-tified in support of public defense, the court system, higher education, Local Govern-ment Aid (LGA), and law enforcement.

We have provided a copy of his testimony for your convenience and we thank Robert for his service to our Local Union.

I am honored and feel incredibly previleged to receive this appointment. I look forward to serving you in the future.

U OF M CONTRACT CAMPAIGN STARTS NOW!

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LOCAL 320 RECORDING-SECRETARY’S REPORT

By Curt Swenson

Teamsters Local 320 has implemented its contract campaign for upcoming negotiations between the University of Minnesota and its Teamster represent-ed employees.

We started the campaign with opening up the process for proposals to be submitted online as well as the traditional route through the US mail. It was an extremely successful system as the Local Union received an equal amount of online proposals as it did through the mail.

We also endeavor to provide a sense of transparency and ownership for members regarding the contract proposal process. Therefore, we created a proposal ranking proce-dure. Every Teamster at the U had the opportunity to rank each proposal online, or at a membership meeting, based on their personal preference. The ranking data is submitted to the negotiating committee for consideration.

Furthermore, we initiated a town hall style meeting/tele-conference on February 19th to further the discussion on the proposals and ranking procedure. We broadcasted the event online. Every Teamster at the U was eligible to par-ticipate in person, online or over the phone.

I announced all 56 proposals submitted for the ranking pro-cess and took questions from the audience directly, online and over the phone. It was truly an all-inclusive event for members in the Metro and Greater Minnesota. This proved to be extremely convenient for members who preferred to go online or call in from their phones.

Going forward we intend to publish the ranking data we collect from the membership after the negotiating committees first round of bargaining with the University. We will keep lines of commu-nication open during negotiations with the online message board. Also, as your Business Agent, I always welcome questions and comments as does the negotiating committee.

If and when we reach a tentative agreement with the U we will again have town hall style meet-ings to discuss the aspects of the proposed agreement. The entire process will remain all-inclusive for the membership.

U of M Teamsters view the poster of all 56 contract proposals at the February 19th meeting in Minneap-olis. Attendees were able to rank the proposals based

on their personal preference.

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SIGN THE PETITION!

ONLINE AT WWW.TEAMSTERSLOCAL320.ORG

Summer 2013 Meeting ScheduleTuesday, June 11th: Brainerd, MN

Time - 5:30pm. Place - TBATuesday, July 9th: Rochester, MN

Time - 5:30pm. Place - TBATuesday, August 13th: Duluth, MN

Time - 5:30pm. Place - TBA