Teamsters Local 631

gazette
Teamsters
Local 631
Spring Edition
Spring 2010, Volume 2
Teamsters Local 631
700 N. Lamb Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89110
(702) 453-6310
Officers
John Phillipenas
Secretary Treasurer
Kevin Hardison
President
Don Weimer
Vice President
Todd Clapper
Recording Secretary
Johnny Gonzalez
Trustee
Wayne Dey
Trustee
Kermit Williams
Trustee
Teamsters 631 Hackers &
Slackers Golf Tournament
Local 631 held their 1st Annual Golf
Tournament on February 26, 2010. It
was a beautiful day as it was cloudy but
no rain. We had a better turnout than
anticipated, with 74 paid golfers and
lots of sponsorships from both Health
care vendors and Employers alike.
For those of you who do not know about
the Slackers and Hackers Charity
Golf Tournament it is a nonprofit 501C
charity that gives 100% of proceeds to
the members children as scholarships.
The scholarships will be awarded in
the summer by a committee comprised
of rank and file members, employers,
vendors and representatives from
Educational backgrounds.
to Absolute Dental for sponsoring the
lunch portion of the tournament.
Scholarship applications are available
now at the hall or on our website, www.
teamsterslocal631.org. To be eligible,
the child’s parent/grandparent must
be a member in good standing and the
student must have maintained a 2.0
GPA for their last full year of school.
This year’s winners of the golf
tournament were Art Cantu, Local
36, Larry Griffith, Local 14, Bassam
Hattar and Lori Waite from Express
Scripts. Way to go Teamsters and we
will see you all at next year’s event!
This
year’s
participants
included
members
from
Teamsters Local 14, 36, 396,
631 and 995. Also playing
were members from Southern
NV. Bldg Trades, Plumbers
and
Pipefitters,
IATSE
(stagehands),
Bricklayers,
as well as reps from various
employers.
This tournament would not
have been possible without
the help of our volunteers and
vendors who not only donated
money, but their time as well.
A special Thank You goes out
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
CONTACT TEAMSTERS 631
BUSINESS AGENTS
Teamsters Local 631
gazette
Fran Almaraz-Political Coordinator
EXT 5028
Todd Clapper-Freight B.A.
EXT 5023
Kevin Clove-Convention B.A.
EXT 5034
Wayne Dey-Construction, First Transit B.A.
EXT 5050
Johnny Gonzalez-Ready Mix,
Simplot, Certainteed B.A.
EXT 5060
Kevin Hardison-Republic Services,
Movie Industry B.A.
EXT 5020
Steve Lopresti-Convention B.A.
EXT 5033
Kenny Pietrafeso-UPS B.A.
EXT 5025
Jim Stinar-Government Contracts B.A.
EXT 5027
Gary Tiffe-Organizer/Misc. Contracts
EXT 5029
Donny Weimer-Convention B.A.
EXT 5026
Kermit Williams-Republic Services B.A.
EXT 5031
Patrick Domholdt-Compliance Officer
EXT 5024
2
IMPORTANT
CONTACT NUMBERS
Southwest Administrators:
(702) 252-7001
Beech Street/Viant: (PPO)
(800) 407-1228
SHPS (pre-authorization and
case management):
(877) 323-6127
Harmony Healthcare:
(702) 251-8000
Delta Dental-Customer Service:
(866) 225-1112
HMO (800) 422-4234
PPO (800) 521­-2651
Cura Scripts (specialty medications):
(888) 773-7376
Express Scripts:
(800) 206-4005
Vision Service Plan:
(800) 877-7195
SWA Pension:
(800) 845-0571
Pacificare:
(800) 347-8600
or (702) 269-2500
Health Plan of Nevada:
(702) 242-7300
Teamsters 631 Dispatch
(automated dispatch)
(866) 848-2604
State of Nevada Unemployment:
(702) 486-0350
From the Desk of
Secretary-Treasurer
John Phillipenas
To the members,
Gary Tiffe has been busy organizing and
we picked up 120 bus drivers at First
Transit. He also just completed a campaign
that will add almost 500 more bus drivers
from Citizens Area Transit. He is currently
working on Caesars Palace security guards,
who desperately want a contract with
Local 631.
Kevin Hardison and Gary Tiffe were elected
to serve on the Central Labor Council. This
will give us a voice on labor issues in the
valley. We have 8 delegates for Southern
Nevada Building Trades, which will help
us in the construction side of this local.
Kevin was also recently appointed to the
Clark County Recycling Advisory Board.
This board will make recommendations to
adopt a policy which will create jobs and
increase consumer recycling. Negotiations
Our Administration is committed to having
craft meetings for all of the members. Please
call your B.A. for more information regarding
your next scheduled craft meeting. The only
way our members can protect their jobs, is
to attend all craft and membership meetings,
and to attend all steward training seminars
that are available. Also, utilize our Training
Center to uprade your skills and become
more qualified for jobs as they become
available.
In closing, I would like to thank all the
volunteers that helped in leafleting Caesars
Palace. To the stewards who put themselves
in harm’s way every day to protect their
brothers and sisters, a big thank you to you.
It is your dedication that makes this Union
great.
gazette
Saying that, the Union has been able to
increase services and representation.
Trustee Johnny Gonzalez has been
proactive in helping members with Workers
Compensation issues. He has attended
several seminars and continues to educate
the members on a difficult subject. Fran
Almaraz has attended many political
functions representing Teamsters Local
631 (see political endorsements on page
6). She has been appointed to the state
misclassification advisory committee. This
should help us organize FedEx in the future.
The Local has signed 2 contracts with Warner
Bros and CBS for pilots that hopefully will be
picked up by the networks. We are involved
with IATSE and SAG to make sure that
production companies use Union labor when
in Las Vegas. Your Convention Business
Agents continue to police the floors resulting
in non-union and out of town companies
being removed from the shows. We also
recently won an arbitration for Freeman’s
RDC which means work for Teamsters.
Teamsters Local 631
2009 is behind us and with all the
reduction in hours and members
being laid off , the Local was
able to manage our expenses and save a few
thousand dollars to build up our reserves.
The Strike Fund is slowly recouping the
large losses from 2008. With the help and
hard work from the Business Agents and
office staff to hold down expenses ,we will
continue to stay in the black.
will be starting shortly for the Construction
Industry. Please contact Wayne Dey for
information and dates.
Fraternally,
John Phillipenas
Sec. Treasurer
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Teamsters Local 631
Statewide 2010 Endorsed Candidates
April 6, 2010
Teamsters Local 631
gazette
Federal Partisan Offices
Harry Reid
U.S. Senate
Shelley Berkley
Congress Dist. 1
Dina Titus
Congress Dist. 3
Statewide Partisan Offices
Rory Reid Governor
Robert Randazzo Lt. Governor
Ross Miller Secretary of State
Catherine Cortez-Masto Attorney General
Kim Wallin State Controller
Kate Marshall State Treasurer
State Senate Races
Mo Denis
Joyce Woodhouse
Mark Manendo
Tammy Peterson
Benny Yerushalmi
Ruben Kihuen
Aaron Ford
State Assembly Races
Marilyn Kirkpatrick State Assembly Dist. 1
Peggy Pierce
State Assembly Dist. 3
Gerald Mackin
State Assembly Dist. 4
Marilyn Dondero Loop State Assembly Dist. 5
Harvey Munford
State Assembly Dist. 6
Jason Frierson
State Assembly Dist. 8
Richard Segerblom State Assembly Dist. 9
Joseph Hogan
State Assembly Dist. 10
Olivia Diaz
State Assembly Dist. 11
James Ohrenschall
State Assembly Dist. 12
Louis DeSalvo
State Assembly Dist. 13
Maggie Carlton
State Assembly Dist. 14
Elliot Anderson
State Assembly Dist. 15
John Ocequera
State Assembly Dist. 16
Kelvin Atkinson
State Assembly Dist. 17
Richard Carrillo
State Assembly Dist. 18
Lynn Goya
State Assembly Dist. 20
Ellen Spiegel
State Assembly Dist. 21
Lucy Flores
State Assembly Dist. 28
April Mastroluca
State Assembly Dist. 29
William Horne
State Assembly Dist. 34
Harry Schiffman
State Assembly Dist. 36
Marcus Conklin
State Assembly Dist. 37
Paul Aizley
State Assembly Dist. 41
Clark County Races
Chris Giunchigliani
Greg Esposito
Doug Gillespie
Michele W. Shafe
Diana Alba
Deborah Conway
Laura Fitzpatrick
John Cahill
Bobby Gronauer
4
State Senate Dist. 2
State Senate Dist. 5 (Seat B)
State Senate Dist. 7 (Seat B)
State Senate Dist. 8
State Senate Dist. 9
State Senate Dist. 10
State Senate Dist. 12
CC Commission Dist. E
CC Commission Dist. G
CC Sheriff
CC Assessor
CC Clerk
CC Recorder
CC Treasurer
CC Public Administrator
Constable, Township LV
Clark County Judicial Non Partisan Offices
Gloria Sturman
CC District Court Judge Dept. 26
Nancy Alf
CC District Court Judge Dept. 27
Ronald Israel
CC District Court Judge Dept. 28
Susan Scann
CC District Court Judge Dept. 29
Michael Davidson
CC District Court Judge Dept. 30
Josh Kunis
CC District Court Judge Dept. 31
Rob Bare
CC District Court Judge Dept. 32
Denise Pifer
CC District Judge Family Court
Division Dept. C
Charles Hoskin
CC District Judge Family Court
Division Dept. E
William Gonzalez
CC District Judge Family Court
Division Dept. F
Vincent Ochoa
CC District Judge Family Court
Division Dept. S
Terrance Marren
CC District Judge Family Court
Division Dept. T
Joseph Sciscento
CC Justice of the Peace,
Las Vegas Township Dept. 2
Anthony Abbatangelo CC Justice of the Peace,
Las Vegas Township Dept. 3
Melissa Saragosa
CC Justice of the Peace,
Las Vegas Township Dept. 4
Kristine Kuzemka
CC Justice of the Peace,
Las Vegas Township Dept. 6
Karen Haron-Bennett CC Justice of the Peace,
Las Vegas Township Dept. 7
Joe Bonaventure
CC Justice of the Peace,
Las Vegas Township Dept. 9
Melainie Tobiasson
Andress CC Justice of the Peace,
Las Vegas Township Dept. 10
Suzan Baucum
CC Justice of the Peace,
Las Vegas Township Dept. 13
Conrad Hafen
CC Justice of the Peace,
Las Vegas Township Dept. 14
Stanton Colton
CC Justice of the Peace,
Searchlight Township
Education Non Partisan Races
Kevin Page
Regent State University Regent
District 3
Raymond Rawson
Regent State University Regent
District 7
Dwayne Chesnut
Regent State University Regent
District 12
James Dean Leavitt Regent State University Regent
District 13
Javier Trujillo
CC Trustee, School District D
Carolyn Edwards
CC Trustee, School District F
PRIMARY ELECTION DATES
Close of Voter Registration for
Primary Election
May 18, 2010 (NRS 293.560)
Early Voting Begins May 22, 2010
(NRS 293.356, 293.3568)
Early Voting Ends
June 4, 2010
(NRS 293.256, 293.3568)
Primary Election
June 8, 2010 (NRS 293.175)
Residential Driver-of-the-Year
Anthony Lucious
Republic Services has over 500 trucks on the
road in Southern Nevada. Republic has had the
privilege of having 5 drivers in Clark County
named as drivers of the year for the entire country.
Anthony Lucious is the newest residential driver
selected for this award in 2010.
Anthony started his career with Republic Services
21 years ago, for then Silver State Disposal. Not
only is he a driver, but he is also a certified driving
Although he is an avid fisherman, his real passion
is football. He is a diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan,
rooting for them regardless of their record. He
also is involved in NYFL football and has been a
coach for the last 8 years.
Teamsters Local 631 would like to commend
Anthony for mentoring our children, training our
members at Republic and for giving back to the
community. Congratulations on a job well done.
Teamsters Construction Training Center
Assembly Bill 148 went into effect January 1, 2010.
This bill requires all workers on a construction
job site, to have their 10 Hr. OSHA Construction
certification. These certifications are now good
for 5 years from the date of issue, in the state
of Nevada. If you currently do not possess your
OSHA card, or if your card has expired, please
contact the Training Center to be scheduled in a
future class.
We have also added a class to our curriculum, we
now offer Asbestos Awareness. This 8 hr. class is
designed to give the students a general awareness,
on an introductory level, of dealing with, working
around and the transportation of asbestos waste.
Please let us know at the Training Center if you
are interested in participating in this class.
Please check our website at www.631train.com to
see what classes we offer.
gazette
Greetings from the Teamsters Construction Training Center. We at the Training Center understand
the difficulty that we are all facing during this
economic time. We encourage all Teamsters Local 631 members to visit the Training Center to
inquire about the training that we offer to expand
your qualifications. There may be qualifications
that you have that the local is not aware of. Please
call the Training Center to set up an appointment
so that we can get those items added to your resume at the Union Hall. If you would like to sign
up for training, please visit the Training Center,
in person, Monday through Friday, 7:00 am-4:00
pm, to fill out a training application if you haven’t
already done so. We will add your application and
contact you as your name moves up the list for the
specific classes that you have requested. Please
keep in mind that to stay eligible for ALL training
that we offer, you must stay current on your dues.
If there is a change in your dues status, please
make sure you let us know at the Training Center.
If your contact information changes, please let us
know as well. The Training Center computers are
not linked, in any way, with the computers at the
Union Hall.
Teamsters Local 631
Driver-of-the-Year Anthony Lucious (left), Sloan
General Manager Paul LaBruzzo (right).
instructor for the company. He has 21 years as
an accident free driver. Anthony is devoted to his
job, but he also is devoted to his family. He has
been married for 20 years, and is the father of
2 boys and 1 girl.
Side dump
class at the
Pahrump
training
site,
preparing
to dump.
5
6
Teamsters Local 631
gazette
Southern Nevada Teamsters
“Best Work Force”
After two (2) days of arbitration
with Freeman, the Freeman
Company decided to settle with
the Teamsters rather than let the
Arbitrator rule regarding long term
storage and prepping.
The agreement is as follows:
Abuse of I & D work by large exhibit
builders (such
as
Gilbert
Display
and
Stax)
using
out of town
managers
has
been
curtailed
by
the aggressive
work of the BA’s
and Stewards.
Also, there are numerous
small I & D companies that continually
move their steward to another booth
or venue, in order to work their out
of town managers or extra board
relatives. Keeping track of this is a
daunting task, but the I & D stewards
are doing a remarkable job of finding
the offenses and writing grievances
against the companies. Hopefully,
when the companies get tired of
paying grievances, they will begin to
see the benefit of following the rules. The Association
language in the Exhibitors Manuel concerning rules and
regulations determines how aggressive we can get with
enforcing Teamsters’ work on the floor, but due to the
hard work of our Show Stewards, Teamster labor has
been put on numerous booths for EAC companies that
were not in compliance.
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• Freeman will no longer prep the
sequencing of Booth Carpet, Tables,
Table Skirts, Table Plastic and New
Generation Furniture.
• Long-term storage of exhibitor
booths shall be transferred from
RDC to the Employer’s Sunset
Warehouse, or another Teamsterstaffed warehouse in the Las Vegas area, to the
following extent:
• Only booths used exclusively for shows in the Las
Vegas area will be transferred
• The booths in (a) shall be transferred from the Las
Vegas show sites where they are used
• The booths in (a) shall be transferred to the extent
that there is available space
in the Sunset Warehouse,
provided that the employer
shall maintain a minimum
of 40,000 gross square
feet of floor space at the
Sunset
warehouse,
or
another
Teamster-staffed
warehouse in the Las Vegas
area, for storage of third-
party property
(exhibitor and
management).
We have a new
pending grievance
to
be
resolved
concerning JB Hunt
loads from RDC
bumping the docks at the Sunset Warehouse.
Teamsters Local 631
In the past when an
Association was seeking
out a city to place its
show, they looked for
certain “Selling Points”.
These consisted of Airport,
Hotels, Convention Facility,
Climate and Entertainment.
Now included on this
list is “best work force”. We can accommodate the
exhibitors because we are “wall
to wall” Teamsters, which equates
to “best work force” and makes it
more efficient and cost effective
to choose Las Vegas for their
Convention.
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Teamsters Local 631
700 N. Lamb Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89110
PAID
LAS VEGAS, NV
PERMIT NO. 1631
Teamsters Local 631
gazette
NONPROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE
Jessie Espinoza,
Teamster Steward for the
Freeman Company, was
recently recognized by
Freeman with a Customer
Service Award. Jessie was
honored to accept this
award which came with a $250 prize. As a Convention
worker not able to accept gratuities, Jessie has donated the
money to ULAN. This non-profit organization helps many
Union workers in Las Vegas, and has always responded in a
positive way to helping Teamsters. Congratulations Jessie
for earning this award and for your generosity towards
ULAN.