Minnesota Teamsters Win BIG!

IN THIS ISSUE: 2) Secretary-Treasurers Report, Brian Aldes. 3) Presidents Report, Joanne Derby; Holiday Meeting Notice and Mille Lacs Co. Victory 4) D.R.I.V.E. Report, Sami Gabriel and Special Thanks to Local 320 Volunteers. 5) Recording-Secretarys Report, Curt Swenson and Polk County Victory 6) Benefit Information for Officer Brad Thelen. 7.) Momentous Steward Seminar.

LOCAL 320 SECRETARY-TREASURERS REPORT

MAKING LEGISLATION WORK

By Brian Aldes First of all, I want to wish Local 320 members a Happy Holidays and very Happy New Year! There are lots of reasons to celebrate the coming new year: 1) President Obama won an overwhelming victory for re-election; 2) the Democratic Farm-Labor Party (DFL) holds a firm majority in both legislative chambers at the Statehouse, therefore, the Freedom of Employment Scam (Right-to-Work) is dead as well as any other attempts to circumvent our rights or collective bargaining agreements. Many Teamsters worked hard to get out the vote for our D.R.I.V.E. endorsed candidates this past election. Many were Local 320 members, and I want to thank each and every one of you who helped us bring home a victory for Minnesota workers! Looking toward the 2013 Legislative Session we understand the importance of providing a political agenda which serves our members needs. We will work diligently on the following issues: To promote adequate funding for our state universities, public defense employees, and aid to local governments. For all injuries of Corrections Officers in jails to be reported to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
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To protect PERA pensions from benefit reductions and privatization schemes. To actively support the repayment of our schools from the Legislature. To examine the so-called redesign of our government and determine what it will ultimately mean for members jobs and collective bargaining agreements. To investigate the possibility of providing bus drivers with unemployment benefits when the school year is over.

We have our work cut out for us; but we also have a major opportunity to get things done for our Union. Lets get what we voted for!

LOCAL 320 PRESIDENTS REPORT

THE REDESIGN OF OUR GOVERNMENT

By Joanne Derby You may ask yourself, what is the redesign of government? I think the overall question is still up in the air; but I will try to make sense of it all. Redesign is the push to consolidate services between state, county, and city lines into unitary, regional authorities. Redesign has been developed and promoted by the Bush Foundation and has gathered steam through the Redesigning Minnesota series on Twin Cities Public Television. The series hosts discussions with government officials and think-tank operatives, and it highlights examples of redesign such as the West MetroFire Rescue District. According to Redesign Theory, in the next 15-20 years Minnesota will face a massive demographic shift resulting from an aging workforce and rural depopulation. Simply stated, demands for services will continue to grow while revenues to pay for services will continue to decline. In redesign theory this demographic shift is called the new normal. The redesign theory and practice is gaining traction in the state of Minnesota. Teamsters Local 320 will become active in this process so we can impact the way it is implemented, and how it will affect our membership.
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Tuesday, December 11, 2012 MN Teamsters BLDG-3rd Floor 3001 University Ave. S.E. Dinner and then meeting Doors open at 6:00 pm Local 320 members and families!

Holiday Meeting!

LOCAL 320 VICE PRESIDENTS/ D.R.I.V.E. REPORT

ELECTION RESULTS: D.R.I.V.E. IS BIG WINNER!

By Sami Gabriel Novembers election was a major victory for Teamsters Local 320 and all of organized labor. Endorsed candidates President Obama and Senator Klobuchar both won their re-elections resoundingly! D.R.I.V.E. won 68% of its endorsed races including a very important race in the 8th Congressional District with endorsed candidate Rick Nolan thumping GOP Congressman Chip Cravaack by a 55-45 margin! The best triumph came from the shift of power in the state legislature from GOP to DFL. Minnesota Teamsters voted their futures! Anti-union legislators like Rep. Keith Downey, R-Edina, lost seats to pro-union, pro-worker candidates! Even Sen. Mike Parrys seat, RWaseca, the guy who called state union leaders dinosaurs and then retired, went to a pro-union DFL candidate, Vicki Jensen. It may appear that all of our Unions momentum was only behind Democratic candidates, but thats not true. D.R.I.V.E. has a proud tradition of supporting GOP candidates who support union issues; however, with the Tea Party and last years push to pass so-called right to work, we had no choice but to support a DFL majority at the Statehouse. Now is a great time for the state GOP candidates and leaders to reflect on why they lost, and how they can repair their relationship with Minnesotas labor unions.

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LOCAL 320 RECORDING-SECRETARYS REPORT

ECONOMIC RECOVERY SLOWLY BUT SURELY

By Curt Swenson Minnesota is getting better financially, says Teamsters Chief Economist Jim Kimball, and that is great news for public employees! According to Kimball, the states projected deficit for the next biennium is approximately $1.0 billion whereas in the past few years it has been as high as $15 billion. The improvement in the state finances is due primarily to the improved prices for corn, soybeans and other food crops that are so prevalent in the Minnesota economy. Additionally, the Minnesota unemployment rate is now around 5.8% (it was 5.9% in August 2012) which is considerably below the national average of 7.9% for October. Manufacturing in the state increased 2.2% over last year in June 2012 and 1.4% in July. Even in September, it grew by 0.1% over the same period last year. So slowly but surely we are on the road to recovery!

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