Latest news with #SeanM.O'Brien
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ruan Transport laying off 144 workers in Arizona after losing contract
Ruan Transport Corp. is laying off 144 workers in Tolleson, Arizona, including 130 truck drivers, along with mechanics and administrative staff. The layoffs will be finalized by the end of August. Des Moines, Iowa-based Ruan Transport has 2,980 trucks and 3,612 drivers, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The company provides dedicated fleet management, logistics management and warehousing solutions for customers across the country. Ruan Transport had a contract with Kroger to provide transportation services from the Tolleson distribution center, which is located in the Phoenix area. However, Kroger cancelled that contract, according to the Teamsters union. The Teamsters represents Ruan Transport workers at the Tolleson distribution center. 'For over 26 years, Teamsters Local 104 members at Ruan have safely and reliably delivered products for Kroger. Now, the company is attempting to replace them with Swift, a move that threatens the hard-won standards Teamsters have built over decades,' Lena Melentijevic, a spokeswoman for the Teamsters, told FreightWaves in an email. Officials for The Kroger Co. and Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. did not return requests for comment. Sean M. O'Brien, general president of the Teamsters, and Fred E. Zuckerman, the union's general-secretary treasurer, sent a letter to Kroger leadership on June 6 seeking clarification on Ruan's dismissal. 'Our impression is that Kroger intends to replace Ruan with a 3PL that does not provide reasonable equal wages and conditions of employment similar to those provided for in the Teamsters Local Union 104 collective bargaining agreement currently in effect with Ruan,' O'Brien and Zuckerman wrote in a letter to Kroger shared on Facebook. 'If this unfortunate development should occur, Kroger should expect community standards picketing to occur which truthfully advises the public that Ruan's successor does not conform to the area standards established by Teamsters Local Union 104.' Related: Mass layoffs continue across freight-related companies in the U.S. The post Ruan Transport laying off 144 workers in Arizona after losing contract appeared first on FreightWaves. Solve the daily Crossword
San Francisco Chronicle
20-07-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Bay Area garbage collection resumes after tentative agreement ends lengthy strike
Garbage haulers in many Bay Area cities are back on the job from a weeks-long strike after union officials from Teamsters Local 439 announced they'd negotiated a new contract with waste-hauling giant Republic Services. 'We're feeling great,' Local 439 President Rick Buzo said Saturday. 'We got our members exactly what they deserved.' Republic Services, in an emailed statement, confirmed it had reached a tentative agreement with union officials for its Forward Landfill employees, who they said would be returning to work Saturday. 'We appreciate the community's patience throughout this situation, and we will work hard to catch up with needed recycling and waste collection as quickly as we can,' the statement read. The strike originated in the Boston area, where more than 400 Republic Service workers represented by Teamsters Local 25 have been on strike since July 1. Since then, Republic Service workers across the country have joined the strike out of solidarity, with more than 2,000 Republic workers honoring picket lines, the Teamsters said this week, adding that picket lines had extended to Los Angeles and Youngstown, Ohio. 'Our members are everyday Americans performing essential services across our communities, but Republic is unwilling to offer workers good wages, decent benefits, or a fair contract,' Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien said in a statement Tuesday. 'The American public needs to understand that Republic Services and its overpaid, corrupt executives own this strike. Their greed is forcing trash collectors and waste haulers across the country out into the street. We don't want this garbage piling up. We want to return to work. But we refuse to be exploited.' The company initially offered a 1.7% raise, which amounted to 30 cents per hour for employees making $20 an hour — and no relief on health care, which was costing some employees $1,200 per month. 'We don't do 30-cent raises,' Buzo said. After waiting about a month to see whether Republic Services would provide a better deal, the landfill workers voted overwhelmingly to strike. The union started the strike at the company's landfill in Manteca, then asked its commercial and residential waste haulers — whom it already represented and who already had negotiated contracts — to join the picket line. Odorous bags of waste began piling up in residential areas across Northern California, causing officials in many cities to ask residents to take their garbage to specified drop-off sites. The strike impacted areas across Northern California, as far south as Half Moon Bay, in communities such as San Jose, Richmond, Suisun City, and all the way to Stockton. The pressure tactics led mayors in many local cities to call on Republic Services to come to an agreement and threaten to cut ties with the company if it did not. Earlier this week, Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi wrote on social media that the city was experiencing 'a health and safety crisis' because Republic Services was not fulfilling its contract, warning the company that if it did not come to an agreement with the union and provide a rate cut to customers 'you will no longer have a contract with the City of Stockton.' On Friday, Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia touted the agreement on social media, telling residents that as of Monday, 'your garbage will be picked up on the regularly scheduled day.' 'The County is moving forward with demanding rate relief for residents,' he added. Buzo said the tentative agreement — to be voted on Sunday morning — provides a five-year contract for members, with better wages and significantly lower health care costs. 'They work dangerous jobs,' he said. 'We're glad they can go to get medical treatment without hesitation.'
Los Angeles Times
14-07-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Southern California trash pileup spreads as workers stand with East Coast strikers
In one corner is Republic Services, the nation's second-largest trash and recycling company. In the other stands the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the large and tenacious labor union that represents thousands of Republic employees. Since July 1, roughly 450 Republic Service workers represented by the Teamsters in the Boston area have been on strike, and the work stoppage has since spread to involve several thousand workers across the country. In California, sanitation workers have walked off the job in cities in Orange and San Diego counties as well as the Bay Area. Santa Ana warned about the delays and asked residents to leave their bins on the curb so they could eventually be serviced. In Anaheim, where delays began last week, city officials said Sunday that 50% of customers in the downtown area had had trash collected, with last week's pickups expected to be made up in coming days. Trash piled up in Fremont, Calif., dumpsters and streets, with several cities warning of lags in service. And in Chula Vista, in San Diego County, Mayor John McCann called for a special City Council meeting over the stoppage's impact there, floating the possibility of declaring a state of emergency in part due to the hazards of stagnant waste. Workers outside Boston are not themselves on strike, but at select facilities in California and elsewhere, they have opted not to cross the picket line as a way to intensify pressure on Republic Services, a publicly traded firm based in Phoenix. The Teamsters have promised more such strike extensions. 'Republic Services has been threatening a war with American workers for years — and now, they've got one,' said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien in a statement that accused Republic of underpaying rank-and-file employees while lavishing executives with multimillion-dollar compensation packages. 'The Teamsters have had it with Republic. We will flood the streets and shut down garbage collection in state after state.' The two sides met with a federal mediator on Friday but did not reach a deal, and the company fired back at the Teamsters in a blistering statement that called the union 'a threat to our employees and our communities.' The company said its pay proposal would boost compensation by 43% over five years, and include generous retirement contributions and 'zero-premium healthcare.' The company was also fighting the inclusion of a contract provision that allowed Boston Teamsters to join work stoppages by fellow union members at cities across the country, the very provision that Teamsters have been invoking to join the labor action. So far in Southern California, a supermajority of workers at Republic Services facilities in Huntington Beach, Anaheim and Santa Ana have joined the stoppage, as well as in Chula Vista. Republic Services provides waste disposal to multiple cities in L.A. County, including Alhambra, Inglewood, Whittier and La Cañada-Flintridge, and it also provides waste and recycling services to South L.A. and the northeast San Fernando Valley. Sites in L.A. County have not been directly affected. 'So far, the city has not experienced any impacts,' confirmed Tonya Shelton, a spokesperson for the L.A. Department of Sanitation, who said the agency was 'prepared to activate its contingency operations plan if necessary to ensure uninterrupted service.' In Chula Vista, McCann, the mayor, said it was 'incredibly unfair' that his city was dealing with the impact of a strike on the other side of the country. 'The goal they want to do is to get better wages and better opportunities for the drivers in Boston, but we have no control over that,' McCann said. Drivers from Arizona and other areas were working overtime through the weekend to keep up with Chula Vista's trash service. Teamsters officials said the blame should go to the leaders of Republic Services and their business practices. 'To the millions of Americans seeing their trash pile up because of Republic's strike, remember one thing: This corporation has hauled in $77 billion,' said Victor Mineros, the director of the Teamsters Solid Waste and Recycling Division, in a statement. 'Republic can easily afford a fair and competitive contract that meets the needs of everyday hardworking Americans.'
San Francisco Chronicle
10-07-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Bay Area trash pickups delayed as Republic Services workers strike
Thousands of Bay Area residents whose trash is picked up by Republic Services are experiencing service interruptions due to a nationwide strike by the Teamsters union against the garbage giant. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union, which represents nearly 8,000 Republic waste workers in the U.S., accused the company of refusing to settle fair contracts 'despite months of negotiations.' The union said Republic has used union-busting tactics and illegal threats instead of bargaining in good faith, though they did not specify what those tactics were. 'Republic Services has been threatening a war with American workers for years — and now, they've got one,' said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien in a statement. 'Republic abuses and underpays workers across the country. They burn massive profits and funnel money to undeserving, corrupt executives. The Teamsters have had it with Republic. We will flood the streets and shut down garbage collection in state after state. Workers are uniting nationwide, and we will get the wages and benefits we've earned, come hell or high water.' The strike, which began this week, is affecting numerous Bay Area cities. The affected areas include: San Jose, Fairfield, Suisun, San Pablo, Richmond, Hercules, Pinole, Rodeo, Crockett, El Sobrante, Piedmont, Fremont, Union City, Half Moon Bay, Daly City, Newark, and more, according to an NBC Bay Area report. 'Republic Services is in contract negotiations with the union representing our employees at Forward Landfill in Manteca, CA,' said a Republic Services statement posted on social media by Daly City officials. 'As a result, we are experiencing temporary service delays in some parts of the Bay Area, including Daly City, related to this work stoppage.' 'Still no garbage collection today,' Contra Costa Supervisor John Gioia said on social media Wednesday morning. 'If your cart is full, bag any extra garbage and place it next to the cart to be picked up when service resumes, anticipated later this week.'
Malaysian Reserve
08-07-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
ALLEGIANT AIR WASTES MILLIONS, STILL WON'T PAY PILOTS
Teamsters Call Out Airline for Misplaced Priorities and Stalled Negotiations WASHINGTON, July 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Allegiant Air pilots represented by Teamsters Local 2118 are raising serious questions about Allegiant's leadership after the company this week sold its failed Sunseeker Resort while continuing to stall contract negotiations for 1,400 union pilots. The airline claims the sale of its unsuccessful hotel project signals a renewed focus on its core airline operations, but their actions tell a different story. 'Allegiant's executives have wasted billions on failed side hustles while refusing to fairly pay the pilots who actually keep this carrier in the air,' said Teamsters General President Sean M. O'Brien. 'Allegiant owes our members over $200 million in hard-earned retention bonuses. The Teamsters demand accountability and a fair contract now from this greedy, corruptible employer.' Allegiant pilots have been stuck in negotiations for over four years. While others across the airline industry have secured pay increases and improved working conditions in recent years, Allegiant has refused to pay industry standard wages and is asking pilots to make concessions on quality of life and scheduling issues. Since March 2021, Allegiant's market value has decreased by 78 percent, with a current market cap of $1.3 billion. The company lost $520 million on the sale of its ill-fated Sunseeker Resort, which is equal to over half of the company's current market value. The sale of the South Florida hotel follows a pattern of frivolous spending by the airline. With impractical ventures outside its core airline operations, from sports stadiums to luxury hotels and golf courses, Allegiant has burned millions of dollars on corporate pet projects. Corporate financial mismanagement has left the company ill-equipped to resolve outstanding contract negotiations for pilots, but the Teamsters continue to call on Allegiant to return to the bargaining table. 'Management at Allegiant has no ability to lead this company. They have no allegiance to the hardworking, dedicated pilots,' said Greg Unterseher, Teamsters Airline Division Director, Above-the-Wing. 'The Teamsters Union has zero confidence that Allegiant will bargain in good faith, but this company must be held to account. We demand they return to the table and end the disrespect of working people now.' Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents over 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit for more information. Follow us on X @Teamsters and on Facebook at Contact:Lena Melentijevic, (347) 208-2279LMelentijevic@
