ABF | Portrait of a dirtbag.....

Trailboss

TB Lurker
Credits
0
a33ac6d0-e24a-4b12-ac10-bd2422dce8c5070213


I posted this on a hobby thread, after a fellow member pm'ed me asked me about my thoughts on the union, and how it bodes for the future.


Let me start by saying that this certainly isn't political, just the observations of a Teamster that has been in the union for 28 years, and has paid dues the whole time, I will be filing for my pension next week.

I joined the union in 1989, and I believe in collective bargaining and have always upheld what I swore to "An honest days's work for an honest day's pay"...I have had a sterling career, and always strove to provide better service, and be better than my non-union counterparts. I have over 2 million miles accident free, and have placed nationally in truck driving competitions two out of the four years that I chose to compete.

When I joined the union, my business agent was John Kikes in Local 78 in Hayward California, and he had a pretty compelling personality in that position, a "take no prisoners when dealing with management, and defending employees" is what he preached at us...but, something always seemed fishy about him. He would attend fund raising ventures with the president of the company that I worked for, and when we had grievances that seemed ironclad, his tough talk would disappear and we were given the "well that's the way it is", when we failed on that count, while work was outsourced to non union carriers. After I left that local and relocated to Arizona, John was caught up in a federal sting. He was caught on tape cutting a deal with a former union boss that had been banned from ever having anything to do with the union. John and him were working hand in hand to help companies stay non union by getting paid "protection money" to stay out of it. When the Teamster officials of the bay area threw him under the bus and claimed they knew nothing of the arrangement (total BS), he wrote a scathing admission:


www.ibtvote.org/files/2006esd200.pdf

(This is 2006 dollars folks)

Dear TEAMSTERS OF LOCAL 78,

Did the Teamsters of Lo. 78 know that each OFFICIAL of the Local all make over

100,000 Dollars a year. DID you also know that YOUR OFFICIALS also have 5

COUNT them (5) DIFFERENT PENSION PLANS that will Pay them over

100,000 a year for the rest of their LIVES!!!!! ALL except STEVE MACK who

will get OVER 180,000 a YEAR for life and who currently makes over 230,000 a

year, and has 6 different Pensions. Do the members of Local 78 like paying their

Dues to these guys who are suppose to represent them but instead ACT like they

are working for the EMPLOYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ASK YOUR OFFICIAL FOR THE

TRUTH ON THEIR SALARY AND THEIR PENSIONS…..AND HOW ABOUT

THEIR 1100 dollar a month CAR ALLOWANCE their 125 dollar a month CELL

PHONE ALLOWANCE.

That truth would have never came out otherwise, and should have triggered a federal investigation, but it did not.

Carter signed trucking deregulation, and whatever you feel about it, it signaled the death knell for the unions, Clinton signed NAFTA that allows Mexican truck drivers to drive on US highways. The union has been a staunch supporter of illegal immigration which further drives down the opportunities for working Americans.

I unknowingly knew at the time that the Pelosi's owned restaurants in the wine country that attempted to unionize, when I called on the customer to make deliveries, rank and file employees told me that they had been "shut down"

www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Pelosi-s-husband-prefers-a-low-profile-2660253.php

While Nancy Pelosi has been a longtime supporter of the United Farm Workers, the small vineyard she and her husband own in St. Helena doesn't hire union labor to pick the grapes there. Likewise, the couple have investments in the boutique hotel in Rutherford and the upscale Italian restaurant chain, which aren't union shops.



"If your view is that labor unions are essential to protecting workers' rights, you ought to have the attitude that we really need a union" in your own investments, Schweizer said.



The charges Schweizer aimed at the Pelosis in his book were quickly picked up by conservative commentators such as KSFO's Melanie Morgan, Matt Drudge and Fox News' Sean Hannity and echoed by dozens of right-of-center blogs as examples of Democratic hypocrisy and a sign of the left-wing disaster they were predicting for a Pelosi-led Congress.



But there were few complaints from the union leaders and workers linked to the Pelosis' investments.



Nancy Pelosi "has really gotten a bad rap,"
icon_rolleyes.gif
said Marc Grossman, spokesman for the farmworkers union. "Under California labor law, it would be illegal for her or her family to talk with the union about a contract until the workers had voted to organize."

What a POS that guy is....



The UFW has only a handful of contracts in the Napa Valley, and the crews that harvest the Pelosis' 7-acre vineyard haven't made any move to seek union representation, Grossman said.



"I don't know how many workers it would take to harvest the property, but it wouldn't be very many and wouldn't take a long time," he added.


I could never figure out why the union after supporting Reagan in his first term, started to become a fundraising arm of one political party...it just doesn't make sense, because when you so ardently support one party...if and when that party is out of power you have no voice, especially when that party so ardently supports that one party..they alienate themselves from being to work with the other party.

The east coast and central states pension fund is in deep, deep, trouble dating back to the seventies when the mob raided the pension plans to build hunting lodges and chic getaway's for themselves while financing lavish lifestyles. I am in the western conference, and thanks to a forward thinking individual, it was set up as a "trust fund" when he saw what was taking place to the east. Making it a trust fund, made it harder for that scale of criminal behavior to take place.... As a result, the western conference is in pretty good shape. (or so we are told) That isn't stopping the Jerks in the central conference and east coast conference to try and have the funds merged so everyone can suffer together for their misdeeds.
At one timed there were over 60 major trucking companies under the master freight agreement putting funds into the pension plan, I work for the lone survivor thanks to the union betting on the wrong racehorses in the political realm and shoddy mismanagement. I am going to take my pension as it is administered through Prudential as an annuity set aside for me. Fact of the matter is, the amount of funds paid by my employers over almost 30 years should provide a lot more money conservatively invested...but I signed up for the program, so it is what it is. I have seen plenty of teamsters die within a year or two of retiring and if they didn't take the surviving spouse option or were single, not a further dime was paid out after 30 years of faithful service.


All of this hasn't gone unnoticed by non-union executives and their employees, making organizing them a tough sell. Consequently, when I have volunteered, the employees use the union threat to get a better raise and tell the union...thanks but no thanks.


I certainly understand the socialist roots of unionization, but I still believe in collective bargaining and having a voice in the political dialogue to support the individual, but through sheer greed, gross mismanagement, kickbacks and corruption that runs deep, the unions are a shell of what they should be. FDR was against governmental unions, because he saw that politicians can make endless promises for political support, and the taxpayer would be on the hook. That is why there is such a pension crisis across the country, most notably in the major cities. I know a retired fire battalion chief from the bay area that has a pension in the six figures annually he was promised it so he deserves it though, but when you have tens of thousands of employees that benefits are paid to for 20-30 years after retiring, it become unsustainable. Eventually there will be a day of reckoning, and when it happens, it ain't going to be pretty.

And back to my business agent John Kikes...his wife at the time was a schools superintendent that made 200k per year....the marriage broke up because he screwed everything in sight. He now runs a farmers insurance franchise in very upscale Danville Ca.

agents.farmers.com/ca/danville/john-kikes


The worst he has to deal with, is getting his Mercedes, BMW, and Ferrari keyed...but as his own insurance agent, I am sure his bases are covered well.
patch.com/california/danville/are-cars-safe-at-blackhawk-plaza


There is life after the union...a really good one when you are an indicted official, and really pay no measurable price.
 
Last edited:
a33ac6d0-e24a-4b12-ac10-bd2422dce8c5070213


I posted this on a hobby thread, after a fellow member pm'ed me asked me about my thoughts on the union, and how it bodes for the future.


Let me start by saying that this certainly isn't political, just the observations of a Teamster that has been in the union for 28 years, and has paid dues the whole time, I will be filing for my pension next week.

I joined the union in 1989, and I believe in collective bargaining and have always upheld what I swore to "An honest days's work for an honest day's pay"...I have had a sterling career, and always strove to provide better service, and be better than my non-union counterparts. I have over 2 million miles accident free, and have placed nationally in truck driving competitions two out of the four years that I chose to compete.

When I joined the union, my business agent was John Kikes in Local 78 in Hayward California, and he had a pretty compelling personality in that position, a "take no prisoners when dealing with management, and defending employees" is what he preached at us...but, something always seemed fishy about him. He would attend fund raising ventures with the president of the company that I worked for, and when we had grievances that seemed ironclad, his tough talk would disappear and we were given the "well that's the way it is", when we failed on that count, while work was outsourced to non union carriers. After I left that local and relocated to Arizona, John was caught up in a federal sting. He was caught on tape cutting a deal with a former union boss that had been banned from ever having anything to do with the union. John and him were working hand in hand to help companies stay non union by getting paid "protection money" to stay out of it. When the Teamster officials of the bay area threw him under the bus and claimed they knew nothing of the arrangement (total BS), he wrote a scathing admission:


www.ibtvote.org/files/2006esd200.pdf

(This is 2006 dollars folks)



That truth would have never came out otherwise, and should have triggered a federal investigation, but it did not.

Carter signed trucking deregulation, and whatever you feel about it, it signaled the death knell for the unions, Clinton signed NAFTA that allows Mexican truck drivers to drive on US highways. The union has been a staunch supporter of illegal immigration which further drives down the opportunities for working Americans.

I unknowingly knew at the time that the Pelosi's owned restaurants in the wine country that attempted to unionize, when I called on the customer to make deliveries, rank and file employees told me that they had been "shut down"

www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Pelosi-s-husband-prefers-a-low-profile-2660253.php




I could never figure out why the union after supporting Reagan in his first term, started to become a fundraising arm of one political party...it just doesn't make sense, because when you so ardently support one party...if and when that party is out of power you have no voice, especially when that party so ardently supports that one party..they alienate themselves from being to work with the other party.

The east coast and central states pension fund is in deep, deep, trouble dating back to the seventies when the mob raided the pension plans to build hunting lodges and chic getaway's for themselves while financing lavish lifestyles. I am in the western conference, and thanks to a forward thinking individual, it was set up as a "trust fund" when he saw what was taking place to the east. Making it a trust fund, made it harder for that scale of criminal behavior to take place.... As a result, the western conference is in pretty good shape. (or so we are told) That isn't stopping the Jerks in the central conference and east coast conference to try and have the funds merged so everyone can suffer together for their misdeeds.
At one timed there were over 60 major trucking companies under the master freight agreement putting funds into the pension plan, I work for the lone survivor thanks to the union betting on the wrong racehorses in the political realm and shoddy mismanagement. I am going to take my pension as it is administered through Prudential as an annuity set aside for me. Fact of the matter is, the amount of funds paid by my employers over almost 30 years should provide a lot more money conservatively invested...but I signed up for the program, so it is what it is. I have seen plenty of teamsters die within a year or two of retiring and if they didn't take the surviving spouse option or were single, not a further dime was paid out after 30 years of faithful service.


All of this hasn't gone unnoticed by non-union executives and their employees, making organizing them a tough sell. Consequently, when I have volunteered, the employees use the union threat to get a better raise and tell the union...thanks but no thanks.


I certainly understand the socialist roots of unionization, but I still believe in collective bargaining and having a voice in the political dialogue to support the individual, but through sheer greed, gross mismanagement, kickbacks and corruption that runs deep, the unions are a shell of what they should be. FDR was against governmental unions, because he saw that politicians can make endless promises for political support, and the taxpayer would be on the hook. That is why there is such a pension crisis across the country, most notably in the major cities. I know a retired fire battalion chief from the bay area that has a pension in the six figures annually he was promised it so he deserves it though, but when you have tens of thousands of employees that benefits are paid to for 20-30 years after retiring, it become unsustainable. Eventually there will be a day of reckoning, and when it happens, it ain't going to be pretty.

And back to my business agent John Kikes...his wife at the time was a schools superintendent that made 200k per year....the marriage broke up because he screwed everything in sight. He now runs a farmers insurance franchise in very upscale Danville Ca.

agents.farmers.com/ca/danville/john-kikes


The worst he has to deal with, is getting his Mercedes, BMW, and Ferrari keyed...but as his own insurance agent, I am sure his bases are covered well.
patch.com/california/danville/are-cars-safe-at-blackhawk-plaza


There is life after the union...a really good one when you are an indicted official, and really pay no measurable price.



Long screed, Brother. And,......much I could agree with. I was part of a group that got cheated royally in the carhaul contract,.....by our own Union officials in collusion with management.....And I mean right up to IBT Regional V.P. level. Had my life threatened in Jessop MD. by a Brother Union steward after I tried to exercise my contractual rights. We filed a NLRB case, and won it 5 years later...........in the meantime,....we had three guys commit ******* out of a 20 man group,....not to mention numerous car and house break-ins happening to the same group. "Coincidence",...I guess....

I had a chance , 10 years later,....to get back in the Union,.....same local, different President. Old thief had been voted out. And,.....I made a point of being as active as I could be. That's part of the problem, as I perceived it. Complacent members were disgusted with the thieves,....but too lazy to vote them out,...or even say anything at a meeting. "What's the use? They're all crooked." is what I heard,........and is what I hear in politics, nowadays........

Politicians,...and crooked Union officials love that.........That means status quo,.....nothing changes. The people don't like what you're doing,....but they're not going to do anything about it.......

We're only as strong as what we "man-up" to be.............What did ol' Ben Franklin say? " In order for Evil to triumph, all it takes is for Good men to do Nothing..."

Your B.A. should've been kicked out a long time ago,.....like right after he said " that's the way it is" for the first time.........Send him back into the Rank-and-File to work under the conditions he approved.......Good taste of reality.......

Insurance man, eh? Another parasite, selling working people stuff that,.....in a reasonable society,.....we wouldn't need...... Fitting,....going from a crooked B.A. to a salesman,.........I can see that oily, slimy tube of a pathway from one occupation to another.......

Congratulations on your retirement, Brother. We both know what it takes to survive this industry.............and you definately earned every penny.
 
Not a long screed at all...thanks for sharing.

Back in 89' John Kikes swore me in and told me that it was my duty as a Teamster to participate in the union...so I attempted to. The first meeting that I went to, it was just a few people there along with the leadership...when I walked in the door, you could have heard a pin drop "Hey, can we help you?"...I replied "Yeah, I am here to attend the meeting" I was then told, "we have everything covered here, if you have any issues, we will take them now, otherwise have a good day." The inference was clear that I wasn't needed or wanted....being new to the union I took a hike. I worked for CFS Continental, later bought by SYSCO...

My world was hooking up to a pup that was floor loaded from floor to ceiling, and every case came off with a handtruck delivering in the hills of San Francisco...after five days work like that and raising a family, it left little time to be involved....yeah, I know it sounds weak, but that was an ass buster with little time to do everything else. Eventually I got a satellite job driving shuttle for years, I worked nights when the monthly meetings took place, and I lived 80 miles away...I was always involved in contract meetings though as they took place on Saturdays.

Some years later, John made a buddy of mine a delegate to go to the convention in Philadelphia (in the nineties). Upon landing, everyone got their own Lincoln Town car...my buddy said that he didn't need his own, but they told him to take it, that it was all prepaid. They ate and drank like kings, and had a pretty swanky Hotel room that he said he could never justify spending for his own family.

Then they told him, "Here is $800.00 spending money"...before my buddy could say "thanks", he was told, "We highly recommend that you go make a $600.00 donation to the Hoffa slate"...my buddy told them that he had to use the restroom, and then he would go over to the table, he never did, he pocketed the money and gave it to a brother that was out on disability when he got back home.
That was when I started taking note of what was taking place, and informs me to this day.


Thanks for the well wishes, retiring, but getting another job...in Foodservice our pension was always underfunded...we were always outnumbered by the youngest among us that were order selectors...they wanted money in the pocket now...and SYSCO always balked at the notion of us passing up a raise to go into the pension...to this day, I still can't figure why it mattered to them. I sure wish I had jumped to freight sooner, but feel fortunate to be in the western conference anyway.

Just to re-iterate, I am pro-union, just anti-scumbags be they in the corporate headquarters, or down at the hall...so much money pissed away that could have been spent to organize, build a stronger union, and help a fallen brother....That would require people of character in the boardroom and the hall....grossly lacking in both.
 
Top