Dan Glass, President and Principal Officer for Teamsters Local 332 joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss his Local’s new contract with Alro Steel. Glass also talked about the new contract negotiations between Teamsters and UPS and the Ascension Genesys RN CBA that will expire in May 2024.
New contracts are often something to celebrate for workers. Seeing a group of workers fully supporting the vote to join a union, and then ratify their first collective bargaining agreement is also cause for celebration, Glass said. A group of workers at Alro Steel agreed to their first CBA with 100 percent turnout.
IBT has begun negotiations with UPS for a new contract prior to the expiration of their previous one. The previous five-year contract ends July 31, 2023. It felt like a loss for many of the workers, Glass said. There were a lot of worker benefits left untouched and it is the negotiating committee's goal to return benefits for their members that were lost in the last contract. There is also hope they will finally be able to receive new equipment to lessen the extremes of driving the UPS trucks without AC units.
Despite being a year away, Glass and his team have already begun preparing for the contract negotiations on behalf of the RN’s at Ascension Genesys Hospital. Looking at their current and previous contracts, Glass believes they were examples of taking what is offered to them, and not fighting for their rights. The nurses in this hospital are already dealing with a nurse shortage but they are also underpaid. It’s Glass’ goal to take on the hospital and provide the nurses with a livable wage and improved benefits in their new contract.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more.