upsers22.3
Well-Known Member
by Tim S
Local 804 President
804 Members United Slate
In April 2014, Local 804 members won the Maspeth 250 Campaign. More than a year later, multiple videos are coming out of the woodwork.
First, it was Hoffa-Hall and Eddie Villalta. Now Liam Russertt. Why now? Could it be because it’s election time?
Truth is the first casualty in politics so it’s no surprise that these campaign videos distort the real story. As your President, I spend my time fighting for your future, not arguing about the past. But members have asked me to respond and you deserve the facts.
The Walkout
On February 26, UPS fired a long-time member, Jairo R. The firing violated the contract, but it did not come as a surprise. The night before, Business Agent Liam Russertt told me and other Business Agents that Jairo was going to be walked out the next day.
I offered to come to Maspeth and help represent Jairo. Liam told me to stay away, claiming it would look bad if the Local 804 President was there when management walked Jairo out. I made the call to let the Business Agent handle it.
We all know now what I did not know then. Liam did not want me at Maspeth that morning because he planned to pull the building in an unauthorized strike. Liam didn't tell the Executive Board before the walkout. He didn't tell the stewards. He didn't tell the members.
He just pulled the building and put 250 drivers and their families at risk with no warning and no plan about how to get them back.
I contacted UPS management and reached an agreement that if the drivers immediately went back to work, there would be no discipline.
But fed up with management's harassment and falsely assured by Liam that they were protected, drivers took a stand and continued the walkout.
The drivers delivered their message and then they returned to work and delivered their packages but the return-to-work deadline had come and gone.
UPS Goes for the Kill
While UPS and Hoffa-Hall were agreeing to contract givebacks around the country, Local 804 won contract improvements like a $4,000 pension and new full-time jobs.
UPS and the Hoffa administration were looking for an opportunity to take Local 804 down a notch and with the walkout they saw an opportunity.
When I spoke with hall his only advice was to avoid doing anything that would escalate the situation and to try to reach a settlement. That was all pretty obvious!
I met with management multiple times. UPS demanded a two-month suspension for each one of the 250 drivers and Liam Russertt's removal as a business agent. I refused. I could not accept that discipline and I could not allow UPS to dictate who Local 804's elected business agents are.
The Save the 250 Campaign
With 250 drivers fired and UPS refusing to negotiate, I had to take action. Liam wanted to roll the dice and take his chance with an arbitrator. hall had no plan and told me, "I talked to Atlanta. UPS is serious about firing these drivers."
We launched the Save the 250 Campaign to win the drivers back their jobs by targeting the things that UPS cares about most: money, their publicity, their brand, and their customers.
We built public support with over 100,000 petition signatures. We built alliances with elected officials who threatened to cancel over $60 million in contracts and tax breaks. We reached out to UPS customers. It became too much and UPS came back to the table to negotiate a settlement.
Hoffa, Hall and the International Union
Throughout the Save the 250 campaign, Hoffa and Hall never lifted a finger. They could have ended the firings before they started with a phone call. But that didn't suit their political agenda.
While 250 drivers fought for their futures, Hoffa and Hall were MIA. They didn't attend a single rally. They never even issued a press release or gave a public statement of support.
Members understandably asked me again and again, "Where's the International Union?" I bit my tongue and let members know the International was being kept informed, and told them Local 804 would win this fight.
I didn't have time to point fingers or play the blame-game (let alone tape record private conversations.) I had 250 drivers and their families to defend.
When our campaign finally became too much for the company, UPS came to the table to negotiate a settlement. Then and only then did hall and Sean O'Brien come to Maspeth for a "photo op" with the members.
The Settlement
The next day UPS and Local 804 settled.
Every one of the 250 drivers won their jobs back and so did Jairo R. UPS had demanded a two-month suspension. Our campaign got that down to two weeks. UPS refused to negotiate any reduction in discipline until they had my assurance that Liam Russertt would no longer represent members at UPS.
That decision infuriated Liam. He wanted to roll the dice and take the case to arbitration.
Throughout the campaign, I publicly defended the walkout and I remain proud of the solidarity demonstrated by Local 804 members that day.
But legal experts were unanimous that we had a losing arbitration case. Liam was willing to wait for months to get in front of an arbitrator and gamble with 250 drivers and their families. I was not.
Playing Politics at Election Time
After we won, Local 804 issued a video telling the story of the Maspeth 250.
Hoffa-Hall, Eddie Villalta and Liam Russertt could have issued their videos then too. But they waited until election time. Why do you think that is?
These new videos are fiction when it comes to the Maspeth 250. But they tell a very real story of political ambition.
Hoffa and Hall don’t care about Local 804 members and we know it. That’s why 89 percent of Local 804 members voted against them in the last election. But Hoffa and Hall have jumped into the Local 804 election, with campaign operatives and outside money.
First, they teamed up with Eddie Villalta. Now they are working behind the scenes to try to get the scattered opposition candidates to run as one Hoffa-backed slate.
The Real Lesson: United We Win!
The story of the Maspeth 250 has many twists and turns. It includes the role of a Business
Agent who made a reckless decision that jeopardized members and their families.
It includes International Union politicians who put politics ahead of the members and did nothing while UPS fired 250 drivers.
But most importantly, the Maspeth 250 is the story of Local 804 members standing shoulder-to-shoulder, uniting with community supporters, customers and elected officials and beating unfair terminations by UPS.
Local 804 used that same solidarity to win the best UPS contract in the country, including better pensions, more full-time jobs, grievance procedure reform and more. Local 804 members elected me and your Executive Board to wage these fights and to win them and that’s what we’ll continue to do.
That’s not politics. It’s called being a Teamster.
Get Around
Local 804 President
804 Members United Slate
In April 2014, Local 804 members won the Maspeth 250 Campaign. More than a year later, multiple videos are coming out of the woodwork.
First, it was Hoffa-Hall and Eddie Villalta. Now Liam Russertt. Why now? Could it be because it’s election time?
Truth is the first casualty in politics so it’s no surprise that these campaign videos distort the real story. As your President, I spend my time fighting for your future, not arguing about the past. But members have asked me to respond and you deserve the facts.
The Walkout
On February 26, UPS fired a long-time member, Jairo R. The firing violated the contract, but it did not come as a surprise. The night before, Business Agent Liam Russertt told me and other Business Agents that Jairo was going to be walked out the next day.
I offered to come to Maspeth and help represent Jairo. Liam told me to stay away, claiming it would look bad if the Local 804 President was there when management walked Jairo out. I made the call to let the Business Agent handle it.
We all know now what I did not know then. Liam did not want me at Maspeth that morning because he planned to pull the building in an unauthorized strike. Liam didn't tell the Executive Board before the walkout. He didn't tell the stewards. He didn't tell the members.
He just pulled the building and put 250 drivers and their families at risk with no warning and no plan about how to get them back.
I contacted UPS management and reached an agreement that if the drivers immediately went back to work, there would be no discipline.
But fed up with management's harassment and falsely assured by Liam that they were protected, drivers took a stand and continued the walkout.
The drivers delivered their message and then they returned to work and delivered their packages but the return-to-work deadline had come and gone.
UPS Goes for the Kill
While UPS and Hoffa-Hall were agreeing to contract givebacks around the country, Local 804 won contract improvements like a $4,000 pension and new full-time jobs.
UPS and the Hoffa administration were looking for an opportunity to take Local 804 down a notch and with the walkout they saw an opportunity.
When I spoke with hall his only advice was to avoid doing anything that would escalate the situation and to try to reach a settlement. That was all pretty obvious!
I met with management multiple times. UPS demanded a two-month suspension for each one of the 250 drivers and Liam Russertt's removal as a business agent. I refused. I could not accept that discipline and I could not allow UPS to dictate who Local 804's elected business agents are.
The Save the 250 Campaign
With 250 drivers fired and UPS refusing to negotiate, I had to take action. Liam wanted to roll the dice and take his chance with an arbitrator. hall had no plan and told me, "I talked to Atlanta. UPS is serious about firing these drivers."
We launched the Save the 250 Campaign to win the drivers back their jobs by targeting the things that UPS cares about most: money, their publicity, their brand, and their customers.
We built public support with over 100,000 petition signatures. We built alliances with elected officials who threatened to cancel over $60 million in contracts and tax breaks. We reached out to UPS customers. It became too much and UPS came back to the table to negotiate a settlement.
Hoffa, Hall and the International Union
Throughout the Save the 250 campaign, Hoffa and Hall never lifted a finger. They could have ended the firings before they started with a phone call. But that didn't suit their political agenda.
While 250 drivers fought for their futures, Hoffa and Hall were MIA. They didn't attend a single rally. They never even issued a press release or gave a public statement of support.
Members understandably asked me again and again, "Where's the International Union?" I bit my tongue and let members know the International was being kept informed, and told them Local 804 would win this fight.
I didn't have time to point fingers or play the blame-game (let alone tape record private conversations.) I had 250 drivers and their families to defend.
When our campaign finally became too much for the company, UPS came to the table to negotiate a settlement. Then and only then did hall and Sean O'Brien come to Maspeth for a "photo op" with the members.
The Settlement
The next day UPS and Local 804 settled.
Every one of the 250 drivers won their jobs back and so did Jairo R. UPS had demanded a two-month suspension. Our campaign got that down to two weeks. UPS refused to negotiate any reduction in discipline until they had my assurance that Liam Russertt would no longer represent members at UPS.
That decision infuriated Liam. He wanted to roll the dice and take the case to arbitration.
Throughout the campaign, I publicly defended the walkout and I remain proud of the solidarity demonstrated by Local 804 members that day.
But legal experts were unanimous that we had a losing arbitration case. Liam was willing to wait for months to get in front of an arbitrator and gamble with 250 drivers and their families. I was not.
Playing Politics at Election Time
After we won, Local 804 issued a video telling the story of the Maspeth 250.
Hoffa-Hall, Eddie Villalta and Liam Russertt could have issued their videos then too. But they waited until election time. Why do you think that is?
These new videos are fiction when it comes to the Maspeth 250. But they tell a very real story of political ambition.
Hoffa and Hall don’t care about Local 804 members and we know it. That’s why 89 percent of Local 804 members voted against them in the last election. But Hoffa and Hall have jumped into the Local 804 election, with campaign operatives and outside money.
First, they teamed up with Eddie Villalta. Now they are working behind the scenes to try to get the scattered opposition candidates to run as one Hoffa-backed slate.
The Real Lesson: United We Win!
The story of the Maspeth 250 has many twists and turns. It includes the role of a Business
Agent who made a reckless decision that jeopardized members and their families.
It includes International Union politicians who put politics ahead of the members and did nothing while UPS fired 250 drivers.
But most importantly, the Maspeth 250 is the story of Local 804 members standing shoulder-to-shoulder, uniting with community supporters, customers and elected officials and beating unfair terminations by UPS.
Local 804 used that same solidarity to win the best UPS contract in the country, including better pensions, more full-time jobs, grievance procedure reform and more. Local 804 members elected me and your Executive Board to wage these fights and to win them and that’s what we’ll continue to do.
That’s not politics. It’s called being a Teamster.
Get Around