Resolutions
2011 IBT Convention Resolutions
WHEREAS, residential construction workers in Arizona and Nevada, with the help of the Building Justice Campaign (the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 15 and the Sheet Metal Workers International Association), are fighting to improve their pay, benefits and working conditions and to have a voice in the workplace; and
Port Driver Organizing Resolution
WHEREAS, the Teamsters Union is leading an innovative campaign to organize 110,000 port drivers nationwide; and
Protecting Teamster Participants from Pension-Destroying Investors
WHEREAS, unbridled excess on Wall Street led to the worst financial crisis in the United States since the Great Depression; and
WHEREAS, the United States is a nation of immigrants founded on the shared ideals and rights of democracy, freedom of speech, religious tolerance and equal opportunity; and
WHEREAS, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has historically been at the forefront on health issues and continues to be so today; and
WHEREAS, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters has fought for, and presently sustains, some of the most generous health and welfare benefits in the United States through collective bargaining; and
WHEREAS, the nation is struggling to recover from the aftermath of a full-blown global economic crisis and the worst, most prolonged recession in decades; and
WHEREAS, FedEx continues to hide behind legal loopholes and misclassify employees to keep workers from enjoying the same rights as other similarly situated employees in the industry; and
WHEREAS, Scientific evidence has confirmed that human use of fossil fuels is undisputedly contributing to global warming, causing rising sea levels, changes in climate patterns and threats to coastal areas; and
WHEREAS, the Teamsters Disaster Relief Fund is a charitable 501 (c)(3) fund established in 1991 to assist victims of natural disasters long after the media has forgotten; and
Coalition Bargaining Resolution
WHEREAS, the cornerstone for successful collective bargaining has historically been unity in purpose and solidarity in action; and
IBT Support for Rail Conference Members at Amtrak
WHEREAS, the future of Amtrak is uncertain and many within the federal government, Amtrak management, railroads, and private industry have initiated policies and practices which are detrimental to members of the Teamsters Rail Conference at Amtrak; and
WHEREAS, whether by land, sea or air, the Teamsters Union represents hundreds of thousands of transportation workers who move cargo and people throughout the United States, and;
WHEREAS, the trucking industry is lobbying Congress to increase truck size and weight, and;
WHEREAS, the printing trades have evolved from the slow, labor-intensive hand press of Guttenberg to the fast-paced digital printing that is available today, and
National Days of Action: A Campaign to Defend and Expand Labor Rights & Power
WHEREAS, the attacks on the trade unions as the main defenders and promoters of worker rights has intensified, allowing the corporations to restructure the economy in ways that have that forced down wages, the standard of living of workers, and decimated the base of organized labor in the private sector;
National Sanitation Organizing
WHEREAS, the power of the Teamsters Union depends on the strength of our members; and
WHEREAS, with record high unemployment in the U.S. and a large trade deficit, future trade policies must focus on job creation in the U.S. based on a new framework for negotiating trade agreements; and
The Fight to Preserve Jobs and Standards
WHEREAS, the economic crisis that is still with us led to enormous pressure on dozens of Teamster employers, both big and small, to restructure their operations and balance sheets to survive, and
Teamsters Local 2010 Contract Struggle
WHEREAS, the University of California is one of the nation’s largest university systems, with 10 campuses, five medical centers and three national laboratories;
WHEREAS, statistical evidence has proven that the practice of worker misclassification has skyrocketed over the last twenty-five years at a rate of 7% increase annually, negatively impacting workers and businesses which play by the rules, and both state and federal governments in that a handful of bad-acting employers receive an unfair advantage over competitors. In fact, studies indicate up to 48% of all independent contractors nationwide may be misclassified employees; and
Vision, Solidarity, Action: Stop The War On Workers
WHEREAS, the jobs, wages, and benefits of tens of millions of Americans are under assault by a coordinated War on Workers, and
WHEREAS, throughout the country, corporate CEOs and their conservative allies in governors’ offices, statehouses and Congress are attempting a coordinated War on Workers to eliminate basic workplace rights through an anti-worker legislative agenda; and
Strategic Campaign and Teamster Organizing Models
WHEREAS, the Strategic Campaign and Teamster Organizing Models are key to both building Teamster power and maintaining strong contracts and job stability for our members;
WHEREAS, Congress created the National Labor Relations Board more than 75 years ago by passing the National Labor Relations Act;
WHEREAS, Social Security has operated as a retirement security program for more than 75 years and provides a substantial safety net for more than 53 million Americans, including retirees, the disabled, children and families; and Medicare has provided quality affordable health care for nearly 45 million Americans annually since 1965; and
WHEREAS, the International Union entered into a Consent Decree with the United States on March 14, 1989 to resolve a civil lawsuit titled United States v. Teamsters, and
WHEREAS, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is proud of its history of unifying its diverse group of 1.4 million working men and women from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds to advance their economic, social and political interests; and
WHEREAS, the Teamsters Rail Conference, comprised of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division, supports the development of high-speed passenger rail in America; and
Coordinated Bargaining & Organizing
WHEREAS, Teamster Local Unions must increasingly bargain with large multinational or national corporations that have grown significantly through acquisitions and consolidation;
Putting Working Families First, Make Wall Street Pay
WHEREAS, the economic crisis that began in 2008 continues to destroy the jobs, homes, and living conditions of millions of American workers, and
WHEREAS, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters maintains a political action committee named “DRIVE” for Democrat, Republican, Independent Voter Education; and
WHEREAS, there will be a presidential election for U.S. president in 2012; and
WHEREAS, the best defense in the War on Workers is a strong offense, our goal as a union is to build a movement of workers in and across industries, companies, regions and markets in order to build Teamster power;
WHEREAS, delegates to the 27th Convention resolved that the Teamsters adopt the privatized school bus industry as a priority for organizing;
Honorary Member – Mansour Osanloo, Labor Rights in Iran
WHEREAS, in July 2007, Mansour Osanloo, President of the Tehran Bus Workers’ Union, was dragged from a Tehran bus by Iranian security forces. Three months later he was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of “acting against national security” and “propaganda against the state”; in 2010 another year was added to his sentence. His only crime has been to help found a genuinely democratic trade union for his fellow bus drivers in Iran; and
Global Solidarity and Strategies
As Teamster employers have increasingly become global, we have developed transnational organizing and bargaining campaigns.
Secure Pensions for Retirement Security
WHEREAS, retirement benefits are part of the compensation negotiated in collective bargaining and earned by covered participants as they perform their labor over the years; and
WHEREAS, the jobs, wages, and benefits of tens of millions of Americans are under assault by a coordinated War on Workers, and
WHEREAS, the Teamsters’ representation within the Public Services Division exceeds a quarter of a million dedicated women and men at all levels of government, as well as certain private employers engaged in providing essential services; and
WHEREAS, at the urging of the Teamsters Union, Congress defunded the Bush-era Mexican Cross-Border Trucking Program in 2009 over safety concerns; and