Teamsters Local 312

05/28/2020

Brothers and Sisters.
You are or should have received a ballot recently asking you to decide whether or mot you would support a merger between Local 312 and Local 107,
I support the merger agreement and ask that you do the same.
Now is the time to do a merger with a larger Local and the Members of Local 312 should benefit from the merger. We look forward to the greater power from being members of one of the ;largest locals east of the Mississippi.
I look forward to you and I voting yes to the merger agreement.

04/11/2018

Brothers and Sisters from Delaware County, if you had any intention of voting for our Endorsed Candidate in the Democratic Primary for PA5 the Congressional District, Rich Lazer (Ballot position #11) you must first be a Registered Democrat. If you are a Registered Republican and interested in changing party in order to vote for our Candidate Rich Lazer you still have time. You must switch before April 16!!!! Go to www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/Pages/VoterRegistrationApplication.aspx to register or change your current registration.

Rich Lazer our endorsed Candidate is going to be in a dog fight with 13 other candidates. We really need you to consider changing your registration if needed in order to get our Candidate Rich Lazer through the Primary on May 15th.

Checking the "I do not have a PA driver's license or PennDOT ID card or a Social Security Number." checkbox clears the PA driver's license or PennDOT ID Card number and the Social Security number. You should only check this box if you have never been issued a PA driver's license or PennDOT ID card o...

04/11/2018

04/11/2018

11/15/2017

Brothers and Sisters please don't forget our General Membership Meeting is early this month due to the Holiday. We are meeting November 19, 2017 at 1pm.

09/05/2017

Brothers and Sisters, if you participate in the Teamsters Health and Welfare Fund of Philadelphia you have until the end of this month (September) to get your Wellness Visit and Dental Screening done in order to stay in the "Platinum Plan." You can contact the Fund at 1-800-523-2846 or look them up on the Web for more info. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get this done. By complying with these mandates you will keep your Co-Pays and Deductibles at the lowest possible rates and possibly head off an unforeseen illness!

08/03/2017

One of the eternal conflicts out of which life is made up is that between the effort of every man to get the most he can for his services, and that of society, disguised under the name of capital, to get his services for the least possible return. Combination on the one side is patent and powerful. Combination on the other is the necessary and desirable counterpart, if the battle is to be carried on in a fair and equal way.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes from his descent in Vegelahn v. Guntner

05/05/2017

Brothers and Sisters, We will be attending a rally hosted by Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters, June 20, 2017 in Harrisburg, PA. Local 312 will provide transportation, you are all invited.
We are going to the Capital to protest so called "Right to Work."
The Legislature has introduced six (6) RTW bills.

You know its funny, we have to pay taxes for essential services provided by our Goverment whether it be fire, police, sewer or Legislative Representation. We are forced to do this and most of us do it willingly with the understanding that we, we as citizens, accept that the majority of citizens have chosen this form of governance and as such whether we want a cop or fireman to help us or our sewer to pass our waste or even our Representative to vote against our own interest, we choose to stay and remain citizens and pay our taxes.

The above having been explained, how is it that having to join a Union or at the very least paying for your fair share of the essential services provided by the Union that has been called upon by the majority of your co-workers to Represent you any different than having to pay your taxes?

Taxes levied by the Nation, State, County and Local Goverment are not compulsary unless you choose to live here. You can move, go elsewhere, inhabit a deserted island not claimed by any Goverment and pay no one and get nothing in return but remember you are alone by choice and you alone made that decision as is your right. You are your own majority.

Union dues and Fair Share fees are only compulsary if you choose to work in an enviroment that the majority of those you work with have elected a Union to represent them. Again, you can move on, work elsewhere, work at a job where the majority of your co-workers have not selected a Union for representation but remember you are non-union by choice, as is your right by majority decision.

What we don't have the right to do is recieve the benefits of our Representative Goverment as determined by the majority without taxation nor should we have the right to the benefits of Union Representation as determined by the majority without dues.

So p**s off all ye scabs as the UNION MAKES US STRONG!

11/09/2016

Ok Brothers and Sisters a new day has come and our Nation has selected new leadership. We can go on and on about the failures of the past. We can blame each other, we can blame everyone else or we can blame ourselves any of the blame assigned would be wrongheaded.

I am proud to be an American, I am thankful for the opportunity all of us have to vote. The greatest Nation in the history of this planet remains for now and forever the United States of America.

The peolple have been heard. It is my firm belief the people have voted for movement, that is to say our Goverment has essentially stood in place for six (6) years now and the people want movement.

Do I think we are going to move in the right direction under the leadership of President Trump?

As a Unionist, probably not. I believe President Trump in order to move forward with his agenda of greater infrastructure will likely suspend Davis Bacon (Prevailing Wage) in order to pay for these projects. I beleive he will withold Federal Funds from the States if they don't similarly suspend Prevailing Wage Laws.

I suspect President Trump will cause a tremendous amount of damage and decline in pension and health benefits for the Union Tradesman by driving down construction wage and benefit packages.

President Trump will likely mandate restrictions to Federal Funds going to our schools for example something simple like "you must split the Federal Funds equally with Alternative Schools (Charters, Cyber Charters, For Profit or quasi Religious Schools) or you will get no Federal Funds for schools at all." This if enacted, may be the end of one of the core functions of Goverment as we know it.

You may ask yourself, "are the above two paragraphs likely to happen?" The above two paragraphs are proposed in every Congressional year! Neither of those proposals have been able to garner the voting support necessary to pass, nonetheless, the Citizens have voted for movement and if the Congress doesn't move the President will, even if by Executive Order.

So yes, I think at least one of the above is very likely.

President Trump as a realestate developer has many times been halted by Goverment Regulation and Citizen resistance. I think he will squash that. I know I certainly wouldn't want to own a home where he wants to build and now with the power of the Presidency I would imagine that if you're in his way you may be a victim of Eminent Domain. So, what's wrong with that you may say? You are in the way of progress right? Like the Native Americans blocking the pipeline in the Dakotas?

Fact is, the profits that will come from that pipeline over the 75 years that it stays in operation will outweigh the cost of re-routing by BILLIONS. I hope President Trump sticks with the current plan and continues to insist that the line be re-routed. Surely this will be one of his first tests in office and will be an early indication of the direction He will follow throuout his term in Office.

I will continue to opine here from time to time but for now I've gone on too long.

God bless and protect us, our Nation our Union and our new President.