UE NEWS Updates

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Southern California UE Members Learn Skills, Discuss Green Locomotives at Subregion Education Event

March 9, 2024

Leaders from four Southern California UE locals met for a subregion education event on Friday, February 23. For several members, this was their first time attending a union event outside their own local.

Western Region President Bryan Martindale welcomed the group, and introduced Director of Organization Mark Meinster, who shared greetings on behalf of the national union.

Local 155 Contract with Tinius Olsen Gives Workers Greater Control Over Their Time

February 22, 2024

The new contract between amalgamated UE Local 155 and materials testing machine company Tinius Olsen includes several measures that give workers greater control over their time.

Vacation time was greatly improved by eliminating the old system of attendance incentive days, personal days, and two holidays, and turning them all into vacation days. The union won more vacation flexibility by getting workers the right to use some vacation in one-hour increments, and reduced the notice time workers are required to give for vacation of three days or more. UE members also won greater rights to carry over vacation days, and the company agreed to look into a digital system to allow workers to check their accumulated time.

UE Mourns Former District 6 President John Lambiase

February 15, 2024

John Lambiase, who served as president of UE District Six from 1998 to 2005, passed away on January 3. He led his first strike at age 15, when he was a steward at a grocery store in Brooklyn. After a stint working for the United Farm Workers and volunteering on the 1979 UE strike at Kraco in Los Angeles, he was hired as a UE field organizer and assigned to work with locals in Connecticut.

Funding Secured to Remove Solidarity Mural from UE Hall, but More Support Needed

February 14, 2024

Although UE leaders and supporters in the public arts community have secured enough funding to remove the most important parts of the “Solidarity” mural from the UE Hall in Chicago prior to new owners taking over the building, they are seeking additional donations to complete the task of removing the walls and to pay for virtual documentation of the mural.

Local 1160 Pumps Up the Volume

February 10, 2024

UE Local 1160 members at Roth Pump manufacture pumps for oil rigs, chemical plants, and refineries. On November 18, those members ratified a new four-year agreement. After a period of relatively little activity, members elected a new executive board and decided to send a message to management that they were done with concessionary bargaining and would not settle for a contract unless it addressed rising inflation, healthcare, increased vacation, and safety.  

Local 1121 Members Fight Back Union-Busting Attack and Win New Contract at Aramark

February 10, 2024
UE members wearing union t-shirts at work in an industrial laundry
Local 1121 members wearing union t-shirts at work.

The members of UE local 1121 at Aramark/Vestis ratified a new five-year agreement on October 13, after fighting back a bitter attempt to break the local union by the boss. Despite the employer’s illegal tactics of threats, lies, and outright bribes to break their local union, members voted by a two-to-one margin to reject an attempted decertification.

Locals 718 and 777 Win Improved Severance in the Face of Plant Closing

February 10, 2024

On November 29, 2023, Post Consumer Brands called a meeting to notify the 160 UE members who maintain the facility (Local 718) and manufacture cereal (Local 777) at the Lancaster cereal plant that they would all be out of a job in six months to one year. The officers of both locals got this terrible news via a PowerPoint presentation from the Post corporate officials in a hotel conference room a few towns over, and halted further discussions until they could get back to the plant and inform the membership of both locals in person.

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