Teamsters Unions

Orange County bus drivers say they plan to file a lawsuit today accusing the Orange County Transportation Authority of jeopardizing passenger safety by not providing drivers enough time for state-mandated safety checks and passing work to mechanics to take up the slack. At issue are daily inspections that, according to a letter from the California Highway Patrol, are "specifically a driver responsibility" that cannot be "delegated to someone other than the driver."

The Teamsters endorsed Democrat Bill McBride for governor, bypassing GOP incumbent Jeb Bush despite efforts by his brother, President Bush, to court the national union. The president has worked for closer ties with some conservative-leaning unions, including the Teamsters, and union President James P. Hoffa was given a seat of honor at this year's State of the Union address. Hoffa has pledged to endorse more Republicans in this election cycle and has worked with Bush on a number of key issues.

I have to question the validity of the Teamsters Union's endorsement of Bush. The Times article said only 21,207 of the union's 1.6 million members returned ballots. I can tell you why one vote wasn't cast. My father, a Democrat and Michael Dukakis supporter, received his Teamster magazine with the ballot two days after it was due back at Teamster headquarters. I wonder how many other uncast votes were the result of a similar fate? RICHARD DAMICO West Covina

Waving red strike cards and chanting defiantly, about 3,000 Los Angeles janitors overwhelmingly rejected a final contract offer and vowed to walk off the job at a highly charged two-hour rally Monday. Organizers with the Service Employees International Union said they would start with a series of strategic strikes, building through the week to a walkout on Friday by all 8,500 unionized janitors.

The Teamsters endorsed Democrat Bill McBride for governor, bypassing GOP incumbent Jeb Bush despite efforts by his brother, President Bush, to court the national union. The president has worked for closer ties with some conservative-leaning unions, including the Teamsters, and union President James P. Hoffa was given a seat of honor at this year's State of the Union address. Hoffa has pledged to endorse more Republicans in this election cycle and has worked with Bush on a number of key issues.

James Hoffa Jr. has asked Teamsters officials to certify him as being eligible to run for the union presidency, the Detroit Free Press reported Saturday. Hoffa, a 49-year-old Detroit labor lawyer, is the son of James R. Hoffa, who was president of the Teamsters from 1957 to 1971 and was trying to regain the office when he vanished from a suburban Detroit restaurant in 1975.

Ron Carey was sworn in Saturday as president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, culminating one of the biggest reform efforts in the history of the American labor movement. Standing on the steps of the union's marble headquarters building on Capitol Hill, Carey told more than 1,000 cheering supporters: "I pledge to you today that I will use the full power of this office to rid this union of mob influence and win this battle once and for all."

The Teamsters union ratified a contract agreement that ended its two-week strike against United Parcel Service of America Inc. in August. More than 81% of about 92,000 ballots cast by Teamsters members who work at UPS supported the five-year proposal, the union said. The strike against Atlanta-based UPS was widely seen as a Teamster victory.

In the parlance of their trade, the Beverly Hills robbers were "professionals." They had staked out the 21-room mansion for weeks, even conducting dress rehearsals during which they crept along the service alley and climbed the 7-foot-high wrought-iron fence--masks, gloves and radios at the ready. They knew there was a staff of two--the butler and his wife--and that, each night, the butler headed toward North Elm Drive to walk the dog, a Belgian Schipperke. This night, Jan.

The Teamsters union ratified a contract agreement that ended its two-week strike against United Parcel Service of America Inc. in August. More than 81% of about 92,000 ballots cast by Teamsters members who work at UPS supported the five-year proposal, the union said. The strike against Atlanta-based UPS was widely seen as a Teamster victory.

Blaming vicious union politics, Teamsters at a soon-to-close Anaheim warehouse on Wednesday accused International Teamsters Vice President Eddie J. Mireles of trying to push them into a new work arrangement that would slash their pay and benefits. Workers said they could lose up to 20 years' seniority when American Drug Stores, the parent of Sav-on drug stores and Lucky grocery stores, consolidates three warehouses, including the one in Anaheim, into a new La Habra facility.

Orange County bus drivers say they plan to file a lawsuit today accusing the Orange County Transportation Authority of jeopardizing passenger safety by not providing drivers enough time for state-mandated safety checks and passing work to mechanics to take up the slack. At issue are daily inspections that, according to a letter from the California Highway Patrol, are "specifically a driver responsibility" that cannot be "delegated to someone other than the driver."

His tattooed arms crossed, Charles Poper listened intently as James P. Hoffa, son of the late Teamsters leader, stood in a blue truck pumping his fists in the air and promising to invigorate the nation's largest private-sector union. "I wonder if this is the man who can change things around," said Poper, 49, an Orange County bus driver disenchanted with his local union and the lot of the working man. "At this point, I haven't decided."

Female employees of a defunct Nabisco Foods plant in Oxnard announced Sunday the settlement of a sex discrimination lawsuit against the company, ending a bitter labor dispute over allegations that women were consistently denied bathroom breaks and resorted to wearing diapers on the job. Terms of the out-of-court settlement were not disclosed, and neither the lawyers representing the women nor Nabisco officials would comment.

Reflecting lingering divisions in the Teamsters Union since national President Ron Carey began a reform movement three years ago, five Southland locals have seceded from Teamsters Joint Council 42 in Los Angeles, stripping the longtime West Coast power base of 32,000 members. The secession is being challenged in court by Mike Riley, head of Joint Council 42 and an opponent of Carey.

Charging that dozens of voters were not properly notified, the U. S. Department of Labor has filed suit to void last year's Teamsters Union local election in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and force new balloting. In a related development, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ruled this week that the union's Ventura local refused to count 36 valid ballots during September's election. He asked that the ballots now be counted.

The Teamsters Union, which has 1.41 million U.S. members and backed the Republicans in the last three elections, announced Wednesday that it is endorsing Democrat Bill Clinton. "Bill Clinton is our best hope for getting this country moving again," Teamster President Ron Carey said in a statement. "Many Teamsters supported George Bush and Ronald Reagan, who promised 'jobs, jobs, jobs.' The Republicans failed to deliver."