Campaign Episode 05 will hale

The Teamster Power 767 Campaign Podcast is dedicated to educating Teamsters. Part-timers are at the highest risk of being affected by building closures. The Mesquite building closure is confirmed, but other closures are just rumors. The lack of information from the company and the union is a problem. Members are being blocked on social media for asking questions. The union should be filing charges and grievances. People want to know what will happen to their jobs and where the work will be moved. The lack of communication is causing frustration and uncertainty. Welcome, everybody, to the Teamster Power 767 Campaign Podcast. This is a new podcast solely dedicated to the Teamster Power slate running for local 767 office in November of 2024. Regardless of the outcome, we intend to continue the Reality Check podcast dedicated to the education of the members, locally and across the country. Our goal, in or out of office, is to educate as many Teamsters as possible. This is how legends are made. This is how legends are made. Hope everyone's doing well today. Doing pretty good. Doing all right. Just finished the preload. Good. We got another campaign podcast for y'all to hear today, and I've got Jeff Schenfeld, as usual, running for president and principal officer of local 767, and William Hale running for member of the executive board this November. How's everybody hanging today? Good. Good, good. All fired up. So, let's talk about some of the part-time situations going on and the change of ops and how that's going to affect you, Will, and our local as a whole. So, as part-timers, you know, we're going to be the ones who get hurt the worst as far as the harm the company is going to do with these change of ops. We're going to be the ones who get laid off permanently or who, you know, don't get their work that day. Full-time can displace part-time, and the bottom seniority part-timers are going to be the ones who, you know, they're going to lose out on, you know, their daily wages. They're going to lose out on, you know, potentially their jobs. This can affect health care. So, the part-time is definitely at the most risk when it comes to these building closures. The Mesquite building closure is the only one that is verified yet, not rumors. It's they've actually told the union they are going to close the building. Now, I think that's all that they've told the union. So, they're going to be moving people to what centers we don't know yet because the company won't give us that information. As I understand it, the local has put in an information request, but as far as I know, that information request has not been filled. But what we're going to see is we're going to see full-timers and part-timers pushed into other buildings. The full-timers are already getting pulled off the road, whether it be feeder or package car. They're already displacing part-timers from preferred positions, and I imagine that we'll see that problem get worse as well as the bottom seniority part-timers getting laid off. I think another thing that this is going to affect is the safety in the buildings because they're going to be pushing that work on buildings that are already having work pushed on them. So, we're going to see issues of egress, probably commingling of e-regs. We're going to see supervisors getting on their go-go-go nonsense, especially with part-timers because they see us as gullible and uneducated, and in part, they're not totally wrong. I find that the union, not just in our local, but across the country, does not do its due diligence when it comes to educating union members, and this is one of the reasons why I'm running for trustee. I want to see the problem of part-timers being an afterthought, being left behind. I want to do something to try and remedy that because in Denton, I have done my very best to try to educate my union membership. We do parking lot meetings. I've made up flyers for people. We have group texts. I try to keep everybody in the loop and everybody educated and informed, and I'm trying to bring that type of attitude to the whole local. So, as far as the building closures, the other building closures, it's just rumors at this point, even though we've heard that they've said things to drivers in Sherman and other places that the Denton building is going to close. Our own center manager said that the building was going to close end of year is the term that she used, so they are just rumors at this point, but Mesquite was just rumors, and that turned out to be true. I think my biggest questions going forward are what was the result of the info request that the local put in, and if the company doesn't fill that information request, is that an NLRB charge? Have we filed an Article 38 grievance? What's the process of seeing that Article 38 grievance through? If the company doesn't fulfill the information request and doesn't meet with us to agree on the terms and conditions of this change of ops, what can we do? What's our recourse? I imagine, Jeff, you have some answers to that. I mean, yeah. The thing is you have to push it. You have to file these things. They give us the 45-day notice, and we don't know exactly when that was. We were told, but the information came out slow. Sure, you can file charges, and you have to keep pushing it. There are committees that cover the change of ops, and I don't know why at this point if they haven't given us the information why it hasn't been pushed, or is it being pushed and we're not being told, or is it not being pushed and we're still not being told? And members want to know. Members want to know, okay, what's going to happen to me? What's going to happen to me? Every single classification. They just want information, and they're not getting it, right? I mean, basically, it's always just like we're pulling teeth, but I mean, like anything, the members should know. If that work is being moved, they get to follow the work. Now, the thing is, what buildings is it going to? What percentage can go to this building? What percentage can go to that building? And once you get there, you get dovetailed. If you decide not to follow it, you get to follow the same seniority in your building, and it's just we're not getting that. We're not getting anything. What could possibly happen? What we're thinking is happening. Nothing. I mean, these things have been done before, so kind of tell us what you're thinking, but we're not getting any of that, and that's a problem. That's why we spoke about feeders last time. We're talking about the part-timers this time, and every classification, including package. I mean, the one thing they did say, like, of course, it's how convenient. He knows where the package drivers are going, right? I mean, they're staying in the village, two of them, a village right outside the Mesquite building. Another center is going to Lone Star and another one is going to Chalk Hill. But everything else, nothing is known. I don't know why the other classifications don't know at this point. That's a problem. Is that a problem for you guys? It should. Well, I think this whole thing has been a problem. Sorry, Garfield, but, you know, I think all we've heard at the general membership meetings is, you know, oh, I've been very tough. I've been very tough on the company is all we've heard at the general membership meetings. And it's like, okay, that's great. You've been very tough, you know, but, you know, what is the status of that info request? You know, if you're being tough, are you filing National Labor Relations Board charges? If you're being tough, have you filed an Article 38 grievance? And if not, why? Now, I might have missed something, you know, or, you know, this is information that has not come out. But we have social media. We have those boards in the buildings so that people can have information. If you're not blocked. That's right. That's right. Yes. Yes. That's important. I think people need to know that. You know, there are people being blocked left and right, and our president admitted that, you know, it was him. It's him that, you know, that's blocking people just for asking questions, not even doing anything. And if that's where they're putting the information out and people are blocked, that's a problem. Those are charges. That's a big problem. And especially with the, you know, with the mesquite change of ops, you know, it's like, what if that one person that you took off of there speaks to a lot of people, right? And now they're not on there and they can't get any other information because you're not really giving any information out or they're not on that Facebook page. You know? It would be nice to know what the – even if it is just rumors. Preface it with that. Say, hey, this is what we've heard. We don't know this is what's happening. The company hasn't come right up and told us. But, you know, obviously we've heard about the Denton Center because there's a possibility. Our center manager told the stewards and I that there's a possibility that we could be getting some of that Denton work. The other rumor I've heard is that Granberry is closing. But, you know, that's – you know, it would be nice to know just so people can be prepared, so people can be thinking about it. You know, like the company may only have to give us 45 days, but that doesn't mean that, you know, you can't let some of these people know, some of these part-timers, some of these full-timers, you know, however. Like, hey, be ready for this. Be thinking about this. You know, be thinking about what – where you might want to move if you want to move to one of these other centers where this area is going to. Just be thinking about it, you know. And we're not getting that – we're not getting that information. We're not getting that information because the company – not only because the company is not giving it to the union, but because the union is not giving it to people when they hear about this stuff. And just because the company only has – only has to give you 45 days, doesn't notice, doesn't mean people don't know. It doesn't mean Dave doesn't know. It doesn't mean the BAs don't know. They hear things. They talk to people. They have friends in management. They have friends in different buildings that hear things. It's just a – it's a big network. It's a big – Teamsters and the union itself is just a big social network between the labor employees. And people are going to hear different things and be like, hey, have you heard this? Have you heard this? Maybe this is something we should talk about. Maybe this is something we should warn these people about. Be like, hey, this is something the company is talking about. Maybe you guys should just be prepared for this. And we're not. And, yeah, and, Will, you know, for the part-timers, it's especially hard. You know, transportation might be harder if they have to go to certain buildings, right? Well, transportation as well as, you know, most of us have second jobs. So when you're talking about transportation, when you're talking about child care, when you're talking about the second job, these are big issues that people like to develop, you know, contingency plans around. Even if nothing is set in stone, as a regular person, you develop a contingency plan. And I don't understand why as an institution, like a union, we don't develop contingency plans. Even if it ends up not being the case and the plan, you know, doesn't need to be put into place, what's the harm in developing those contingency plans and trying to stay ahead of the company? I mean, that's it. I mean, it's trying to stay ahead and trying to really, you know. And, you know, at the meetings when someone mentions, oh, this building is closed, and Dave is like, whoa, I didn't hear that. Let me write that down. Come on. Really? You didn't hear that? You know, I think that's like a little bit of a slap in the face to people. You know, you knew. You just didn't want to say anything about it. And, again, yeah. I think it's just as big of an issue if he doesn't know about it than if he does and doesn't say anything. Absolutely. I mean, he's not supposed to get the info. Yeah. That's the problem that we have a lot in the union is, you know, you can't tell whether it is, you know, impropriety or whether it is incompetence. And the simple answer to that is that if it's either, it's a problem. Yep. That's the truth. So, Will, you know, we've talked a lot, you know, the slate's talked a lot, and, you know, we want to do things differently. I mean, we want to be as transparent as possible, you know, and, you know, even with doing this, the podcast, you know, these campaign podcasts, you know, we're trying to give information out that's not there right now. And we're trying to help out. We're trying to do it. And, you know, transparency and communication, and me and you have always talked about that, and we just can't understand why, you know, it's like it is. Why not? Live by the sword, die by the sword. Give that information out. Don't use it as a weapon, you know. And, you know, you, you know, I mean, we talk a lot. We've talked before, you know, the slate was put together about just the things going on and, you know, how they could be a lot better. I mean, you see this. I mean, we see the same thing, right? I mean, I know we do. Well, the key, I think, is don't gatekeep information. Leaders in this union, they like to gatekeep information because they're afraid that somebody better will come along and do their job better. Well, try to improve it at doing your job instead of holding on to that information and keeping everybody else in the dark. And if somebody who is better at your job does come along and can do your job better, well, then that's great. The union is not a corporate ladder to be climbed. It is a democratic institution. And we need to live our democratic values. And democratic values mean having an informed and empowered membership. And if you're not doing that, yeah, sure, you're holding on to your cushy position and your car allowance and getting to sit on this panel or that panel. But your members are hurting. And for me, that's unacceptable. If somebody comes along, if I educate somebody and they come along and they're a better steward than I am and they get made a steward and everybody starts going to them, well, that's great. That's better for me. That makes living in the community that I live in easier. And so I don't get the spotlight anymore. Boo-hoo. This is not about me. This is about a collective. That's what a union is. We are a collective. We are a community. And we live and die by each other. We're not members of management. We don't backstab each other and climb over each other like crabs in a barrel. We hold each other up. We should. Yeah, we should. And, you know, Will, we've talked about this. You know, we get in there. When we get in there, we're going to find people to replace us when the time comes, right? We've talked about that since day one. We're not afraid of that. We want that. We want to educate the next, you know, generation. We want to have people in place so people aren't nervous like, well, what's going to happen when, you know, when you retire and this and that? And we want the next generation. We want to look for those leaders and people who want to help out other members. And that's important. That's the key. It's that culture change that we've, you know, we've always talked about. And that's it. That's it. I mean, that needs to happen. The culture change doesn't happen overnight. I know we've talked about it plenty of times. We're willing to do it. We're willing to take that time and show the members it can be better. It absolutely can be better. And, again, stop weaponizing the information. Let's just give it. We get it, we give it. You know? We tell people, okay, you know. And if nothing is set in stone, hey, listen, this isn't set in stone. How hard is that? But this is what we're hearing. You know, this is the company saying. The company puts out some information that they might not act on, but put it out there. Let us know what they're thinking. I mean, basically, they don't trust what the membership is thinking. I mean, they don't trust it. And if they actually educated the members, they wouldn't have to worry about that. Or maybe they just want them not to be educated so they can get over on them like they are, like they have been, right? I believe that's the case with them. But, you know, it's the continuous education, the culture change, replacing ourselves. And very important, Will was one of the first people I wanted on the slate because, you know, the part-timers have always been left behind, and he has been a huge advocate to them. And it was a no-brainer for me, you know, to say, hey, listen, this is a guy we're going to have on the slate. And we did. And he's already made an impact. He will continue to make an impact. And just like, you know, Alicia Crownover, who's on the slate, she's a part-timer and a strong woman. And everything, every piece is important. It wasn't just thrown together. No, you know, like just no token pieces. Everyone's important. Everyone's got that fight. Will's got a little extra fight the most. But, you know, we want to attack this. We want to, you know, we want to say to the company, you're not going to do what you want. You're not. You're not, you know. And, you know, it's something I know Will has always done. He's always held them accountable, right? You've always held them accountable, as long as I know you have, right? Well, when you have the audacity to say that you are a leader and you sit in that leadership chair, who do you answer to? You answer to the membership. And that means that the membership should hold you accountable. And when we get in there, then, you know, I'll be very disappointed if members don't hold us accountable the same way that I try to hold the leadership accountable. Because an active membership is what forces an active and responsive leadership. We are in a relationship with each other. The leadership needs to do its part to educate its members, and the members need to do their part to, you know, bring those rumors to leadership. Bring them to the general membership meeting. Tell us. You know, we'll write it down and we'll act on it, instead of writing it down and then it just goes and, you know, wherever it goes, the shredder probably. But we're in a relationship with each other. And so I want a membership that keeps my feet to the fire, that reminds me where I came from, and pushes me to do my job properly. I don't want a complacent membership. And also, I want a membership that wants to lead. I want to be able to look at members and to say, wow, you know, that's an up-and-coming business agent right there. Wow, that's somebody that, you know, could be a steward with some training. Like, wow, that's somebody that's going to be an e-board member, you know, someday. I want to have a membership that we can take and give them the proper training and reproduce that leadership. Reproduction of leadership is the sign of a healthy institution. No, it is. And it's simple. Leaders create leaders, not followers, right? That's simple. I mean, that's what we want, and we want to be held accountable. I love that fire in you, Will, and, you know, it's great, and it's going to help part-timers and everybody when we get in there. So, listen, we appreciate you coming on here, and, you know, you keep that fire burning, and, you know, we're going to hold these guys accountable, and we're going to show people, you know, we're already showing people, we're already making change, you know. We've already brought out things that, you know, they're trying to replicate those things. But, okay, that's fine, but, you know, that's where the change we're already doing. And, you know, one last thing I do want to say is, you know, and this is what it is. Everyone remembers when they said they would attack the 14,500 grievances that were left for them. And I was, you know, I saw last night, we're almost 20, probably 24,000 grievances. I don't think they attacked anything, and it shows, okay. That's a fact, and, you know, that's important for people to know. If you think they're doing well, just take a look at that, and, you know, they didn't fulfill that promise, okay, among many other things. But for myself, for Garfield, and for Will Hale, we thank you for listening, and everyone have a good day. This is how legends are made. This is how legends are made. This is how legends are made.