First I'd like to congratulate you on everyone's hard work and commintment to yourselves, your families, your co-workers and your campaign. With everyone working together you have helped take your group of 300 workers from first contact to filing for your election in 7 weeks. This commitment not only gain our greatest respect but our gratitude also. Now it's time for you all to take this home with an overwhelming elecction win.
Many of you heard that here was an hearing on January 6th about you election. When we filed for your election we filed for 1 unit - 1 voice. Of course, Durham didn't want this. They said that you are all three different units. They want to keep you separated as they have wanted to do in the past. You fellow workers who were at the hearing were given the choice of three separate elections or one election so you will have one voice - Your fellow workers choose to have one election and to fight Durham's attempt to keep you separate. The said that "We started this together and we will finish it together". For this I commend them!
At the hearing Durham did their little show and their attorney put in almost 30 different items. Of course he did this as he was on Ebay trying to bid on things. The problem is for Durham is that there's and old saying "If you can't prove your point bury them in B#@*lsh#t". Your attorney through the local provided 7 items that showed you are one group of workers. Now we just have to wait for the ruling from the board that your are one group and then we will get a election date. We are hoping that Durham will show you some amount of respect by giving you a quick election date after delaying the election already.
I would like to point out that at one point in the hearing Durham and their attorney showed exactly what they think of you. During your local's attorney's questioning of Vivienne about what qualification you needed to be a driver the company attorney turned and said "What they have to be breathing". This angered everyone at the hearing, except for Vivienne and Durham's attorney, that they think so little of their employees. Of course this isn't any surprize to you because you see this everyday. That is why this campaign is so important to you and your co-workers. It's time to take back the respect you deserve, to have a say in your working conditions and be paid in-line with the importance of your job. It's time to have some control!
This is when you will need to stand strong and keep you eyes and hearts looking to the goal and that's a contract that you come up with and negotiate. Soon Durham will start their campaign. They will have "informational meetings" where they will make it mandatory for you to come and be forced to listen their anti-union materials. They will probably put up bullentin boards in the brake rooms and dispatch areas so they can put up their posters. These poster tell you that all the Teamsters want is you money, that you'll be force to go on strike, that the company doesn't have to accept anything the union presents. When they say this understand that you are the union so when they talk about the union they are actually talking about you.
Everyone needs to help get the small number of people to us that we haven't talked to. If someone hears something about the union that they question get them to us so we can get them the answers. There will be a lot of rumors at the yard about things that the company will put out to cloud the issues. This is Durham's main job during this time. To get you to think about something other than your issues that brought you to this point. You get no respect, you have no affordable benefits, rules change whenever Durham wants and aren't enforce equally, that you aren't paid in accordance to the importance to your job, you have noone to stand with you when you are called to the office and you have no voice in your working conditions.
We will keep you informed on everything and if anyof you ahve questions please come and see us by the gates at the yards or give me a call (202) 528-5784. Most of all just stand tall and stand strong. Durham's main job now is to scare you and keep you from forming a union. As I have told everyone treat Durham and their information like a teenager. If their lips are moving they probably aren't telling you everything.
