Dave Miller, Local 238 President, swears in Andre Johnson as the newest Executive Board member of Local 238 as a Trustee.

Join us for an evening with Art Cullen and Kevin Burt
Wednesday, November 16th, 2022 at 5:30pm
Teamsters Local 238, 5000 J St. SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404

Fundraiser for striking Ingredion Workers from BCTGM Local 100G
DONATIONS ACCEPTED – $20.00 Suggested But Free To Attend
Food Donations Also Accepted

Hors d’oeuvres, Beer and Wine (Provided)

RSVP to teamsters238@iowalabor.com

 

ADM Teamsters Ratify Historic Agreement

Strike Averted With Increase In Wages and Benefits

Cedar Rapids, IA – The Teamsters Union announced that a new 3 year agreement with ADM at their Cedar Rapids plant was ratified at a meeting early Tuesday morning.

According to Jesse Case, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 238, the agreement includes an immediate 6% across the board raise the first year plus a $5,000 ratification bonus, 40 hours of sick leave, 8 additional hours of personal leave and additional premium pay for many classifications.

“Although we would like to see higher wages overall in the industry, we have made gains in working standards that helped avert a job action” Case said. “ADM’s multi-billion dollar profit margin exists off the labor and sweat of working Iowans and CEO pay remains out of alignment with the workers who make the company profitable.”

Teamsters Local 238, headquartered in Cedar Rapids, negotiates around 200 collective bargaining agreements across the state of Iowa and says they have been negotiating historic wage increases due to the pandemic, cost of living and shortage of workers.

Teamsters 238 represents around five thousand members working in a wide variety of industries, including transportation, warehousing, manufacturing and public service.

 

ADM Teamsters Preparing For Tuesday Strike

Union Contract Expires At Midnight Tonight

Cedar Rapids, IA – The Teamsters Union says it’s preparing for a strike at the ADM facility in Cedar Rapids as soon as Tuesday morning, effecting over 200 Teamster members in the corn processing industry.
According to Jesse Case, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 238, wages at ADM have not kept up with the factors facing today’s workforce.

“ADM had an operating profit of $1.6 billion in the past quarter” Case said. “Our members kept the company open during this period. Workers are tired of record company profits while they struggle to make ends meet. The combination of the pandemic, the increase in the cost of living and the shortage of workers in the job market have changed the attitude of workers. Our members are fed up with the gap between corporate profits and their own paychecks.”

If the Teamsters go on strike this week, they’ll join more than 100 other workers in the corn processing industry in Cedar Rapids who are currently on strike. Ingredion workers, represented by BCTGM Local 100G went on strike earlier this year to protest proposed cuts in their working conditions.
Teamsters 238 is the largest local union in the state of Iowa, with around five thousand members working in a wide variety of industries, including transportation, warehousing, manufacturing and public service.

STRIKES AGAINST SYSCO CONTINUE AFTER TALKS BREAK DOWN

(WASHINGTON) – After more than six hours of talks, negotiations between the Teamsters and Sysco broke down Wednesday evening. As a result, more than 500 workers in Syracuse, N.Y., and Plympton, Mass., continue their strike against the company’s unfair labor practices.

“Sysco pushes its workers to the physical brink as if they were disposable robots. Our members work hard, but they must be compensated with a secure and quality retirement and affordable health care. No longer will we allow this company to churn workers and then throw them away,” said Sean M. O’Brien, Teamsters General President. “They are going to continue to stand up and fight for what they deserve. We have a saying on the strike line: one day longer, one day stronger.”

More than 230 workers represented by Local 317 went on strike at Sysco Syracuse last Wednesday after weeks of contentious contract negotiations with the company. Less than three days later, more than 300 workers at Local 653 took to the picket line at Sysco Boston.

Read more at Teamsters.

Union Says Ingredion Puts Cedar Rapids At Risk By Using Scab Workers

Striking Ingredion workers in Cedar Rapids say it’s more than their livelihoods at stake if the company refuses to negotiate with them: Hazardous and potentially explosive chemicals and starches used to make Ingredion products are now being manufactured by replacement workers with unknown training.

It’s especially dire because Ingredion is located not in an out-of-the-way industrial park, but in the heart of Cedar Rapids, with dozens of homes nearby and downtown within walking distance.

Read more at Iowa Starting Line.