INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS PUBLIC AND LAW ENFORCEMENT EMPLOYEES’ UNION

LOCAL 320
STATE OF OUR UNION VOL. I - ISSUE 1

STATE OF OUR UNION

Dear Teamster: If you have seen a digital ad on your computer, smart
phone, or tablet promoting unions; safe staffing; parental
I’m here to report that the state of our Union is strong — leave; quality heath care, and retirement security, then
Teamster strong! We’ve come a long way in the past several you have undoubtedly viewed one of the PSUA ads.
months and we’re ready to do a lot more.
Teamsters Local 320 member, Maureen Perryman,
Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31 agreed to be featured in an PSUA ad. Maureen is a 911
With the upcoming Supreme Court decision in Janus v. dispatch supervisor for the city of Minneapolis. Every
AFSCME, Council 31, we are anticipating the end of “fair day, she assists Minnesotans in crisis over the phone.
share” fees paid to the union by workers who choose not to
belong. The decision to outlaw fair Most importantly, Maureen is secure
share fees is designed to weaken knowing that her sons, 14-year-old
unions and divide workers, but Damien and 3-year-old Miles, are taken
Teamsters Local 320 will not be care of thanks to her union benefits. At
intimidated! work, Maureen feels able to focus on the
people in crisis on the other end of the
Public Sector Union Alliance line. Being part of a union gives her the
Teamsters Local 320 is a member support she needs to deal with life’s un-
of the Public Sector Union Alli- expected challenges–on the job and off.
ance (PSUA) and we are joined
with AFSCME, Education Min- University of Minnesota Contract Fight
nesota, IFO, MAPE, MMA, MNA, Over the course of several months Team-
MN AFL-CIO and SEIU. The rea- sters Local 320 was engaged in a battle
son the PSUA was formed was to with its largest employer – the University
UMN Contract Ratification News Conference
allow public sector unions to work of Minnesota.
together and share information.
The battle was long and divisive, but University Team-
The PSUA partnership is critical during this time as all public sters secured major victories such as a $15.00 minimum
sector unions are under attack from legal and political threats. wage for over 150 University workers and for all future
What we accomplish together for Minnesota’s public employ- workers. We won language that protects workers who use
ees can and will help all our communities. their accrued leave. The old policy would allow for work-
ers to lose their bid location and position after 2 weeks.
PSUA Media Campaign
In February, the PSUA launched a digital media campaign We have now secured a 6-week protection for workers
over social media to highlight the important work of public with medical, family, and other issues that require ex-
employees and union members. tended leave.

Continued on page 2
 OFFICERS AND STAFF
Brian Aldes
Secretary-Treasurer and These victories could not have happened with- Minnesota Public Employee Pensions
Principal Officer out member involvement, but other unions The biggest item on our agenda for this leg-
Sami Gabriel and groups were equally critical for Teamsters. islative session is public employee pensions
President/Business Agent
Curt Swenson and protecting the defined benefit pension
Vice President/Business Agent First, I would like thank our International or traditional pension plan. We know that
Craig Johnson Union and General President James P. Hoffa the MSRS, PERA, and TRA boards of trust-
Recording Secretary/
Business Agent for providing resources and staff. ees are working diligently to address the
Marcia (Marty) Lamb underfunding with some of the plans. There
Trustee, St. Paul ISD 625 I want to thank DeMaurice Smith and the are proposed solutions to fix plans that are
Richard Wheeler
Trustee, MSUAASF National Football League Players Associa- underfunded without moving away from a
Alston Dutchin tion for great show of solidarity for University traditional pension. Unfortunately, there are
Trustee, U of M Teamsters. also some legislators who want to use any
funding issue with the plans to move towards
Local 320 Business Agents
Hanna Benardson I need to thank the Federation of General a 401k-type retirement plan for new hires in
Mike Horton and Special workers of Iceland or SGS, for its the public sector.
Josh Loahr
Roger Meunier
international solidarity with Teamsters Local
Terry Neuberger 320. In early 2018 the Minnesota Legislative Com-
Vance Rolfzen mission on Public Pensions and Retirement
Erik Skoog
Lastly, I want to thank the unions and groups (LCPR) held a hearing on January 24 with
Communications | Lobbyist who supported University Teamsters here some very troubling testimony from pension
Gus Froemke in Minnesota: the Teamster Locals of Joint privatization proponents. The LCPR is a state-
Council 32; $15 Now Minnesota; AFSCME; run committee comprised of State Legislators.
Organizer | Business Agent
Claire Thiele DSA Twin Cities; the East Side Freedom Li-
brary; Grad Students United; Machinists Local Teamsters Local 320 understands that the
Support Staff Lodge 112; Minnesota Association of Profes- vast majority of its membership and most of
Susan Bastian
Katie Glaser
sional Employees; Minnesota’s public
Ron Phillips the Minneapolis Re- employees want a tra-
Suzanne Slawson gional Labor Federa- ditional pension plan,
Joni Spaulding
Kristi Ziegler tion; Minnesotans a defined benefit plan,
for a Fair Economy; and not a 401(k)-
Minneapolis, MN Minnesota Nurses type plan. We do
Local Union Office Association; the MN not believe that the
8:00am - 4:00pm
P: 612-378-8700 AFL-CIO; the St. proponents of pen-
F: 612- 331-8948 Paul Regional Labor sion privatization in
1-800-637-5430 Federation; SEIU; St. the Legislature will be
Online Paul Federation of successful this year,
www.teamsterslocal320.org Teachers and many Marines Accept Donation from Teamsters 320 but we do contend
more. that these hearings are
Email
local320@teamsterslocal320.org laying the groundwork for upcoming pension
Local 320 Toys For Tots Drive battles.
Last December, Teamsters Local 320 part-
nered with Toys For Tots to raise donations Teamsters Local 320 supports a pension bill
for Minnesota’s needy children. We raised which includes financial commitments from
over 600 toys and presented the USMCR and the State of Minnesota totaling $2.3 billion
Marine Reservists with a donation of $1000. over a 30-year period. The bill passed the Sen-
ate, but has stalled in the House. Every year
Through Local 320’s Member Action Commit- the state fails to act, pension liabilities grow.
Published by tee, we have been able to develop partnerships
Teamsters Local 320 and programs that strengthen our Union and In solidarity, Secretary Treasurer
3001 University Ave SE #500 make positive changes in our communities. Brian Aldes & principal officer
Minneapolis, MN 55414

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 STATE OF OUR UNION
PAGE 1 & 2 DAVE GARIBALDI RETIRES
DAVE GARIBALDI RETIRES Dave Garibaldi is a 27-year veteran of Three LU 320: What made you decide to work for the
FROM THREE RIVERS Rivers Park District in Hennepin County, and park district?
PAGE 3 has been a member of DG: Because the job had
Teamsters Local 320 a pension and it was
UNION WEBSITE OPENED for just as long. union. Private sector
PAGE 3 land care and grounds
Garibaldi was an ac- maintenance is over-
PUBLIC SECTOR UNION tive Teamster mem- whelmingly non-union
ALLIANCE ber who stepped and Three Rivers was
PAGE 4 up and became a my opportunity to get a
participant in the good, stable job.
ITASCA COUNTY Local 320 Member
PROBATION VICTORY Action Committee, LU 320: Why did you
PAGE 5 or MAC. You could decide to take the extra
always find Garib- step and become an ac-
aldi at other union tivist with the Union?
events and rallies,
especially for his DG: It really had do with
Teamster brothers the “fight for $15” in
and sisters. Minneapolis that I had
become involved with.
Teamsters Local 320 It was good to see that
interviewed Garib- Local 320 not only sup-
aldi after he retired ported the $15 minimum
in January 2018. wage, but that it was a
leader in the fight.
LU 320: How has
you job changed Teamsters Local 320
over the 27 years has shown solidarity
with the park dis- with non-union work-
trict? ers and their working
Dave Garibaldi conditions, and this is
DG: When I first extremely important to
started my job, the parks were not developed, revive the labor movement. If we don’t all stick
and my work consisted mainly of cutting trees together with “right to work” looming, we’re all
and making trails or maintaining trails. Today going to go down. I really hope to see the solidar-
the parks are major destinations across the metro ity continue because the vast majority of workers
area and swimming have become a consistent are not in unions and many don’t even understand
attraction in addition to the modern play areas or what they do or can accomplish.
playgrounds.

There has been a change to the Teamsters Local 320

website where unit pages are no longer password
protected. A user can now access a unit page and
its information without having to create an account
or login.

The unit page selection module is located on the left

side of the website at Teamsterslocal320.org

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Since 2015, Teamsters Local 320 has been a participat-
ing member of the Public Sector Union Alliance (PSUA),
which is a group of unions representing public employees
across Minnesota working together to help fight off the
attacks against organized labor.
Part of the group’s work is to build a narrative about
public services, workers and their unions. A joint digital
advertising campaign was launched in February and ap-
pears on social media sites, YouTube, Pandora, Hulu and
other video partners.
It features six workers from public sector unions across
the state talking about some of the values all workers share
– opportunity to get ahead (student debt relief and afford-
able higher ed), time for family (paid time off), health care
we can count on, retirement security and equitable wages.
The ads will target public-sector union members, union
households and Minnesota voters. The ads will run with
more intensity around the Janus v. AFSCME, Council 31
oral arguments and go down in intensity until we expect a
final decision.
The lawsuit seeks to financially destabilize unions to benefit
the corporate CEOs and billionaires who have already rigged
so much of the economy against working people. The Nation-
al Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which receives
funding from various conservative sources such as the Brad-
ley Foundation of Milwaukee, represents the plaintiff.
The campaign, “Building Better Lives Together,” videos are
posted at Bettertogethermn.com, and will be shared on social
media using the hashtag #betterlivesMN. Line Break Media
of Minneapolis and the Clarify Agency created the videos and
website.
Maureen Perryman, a 911 dispatch supervisor in Minneapo-
lis, and a member of Local 320, is featured in the campaign.
Maureen says in the video, “Everyday I help Minnesotan’s
through crises over the phone. Participating in my union
helps me to have security on the job.”
The PSUA includes: AFSCME, Education Minnesota, SEIU,
MAPE, Teamsters Local 320, Middle Management Associa-
tion, Minnesota Nurses Association, Minnesota AFL-CIO
and Inter Faculty Organization.

Maureen Perryman, a 911 dispatch supervisor in Minneapolis, and a

member of Teamsters Local 320, is featured in the campaign.

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 ITASCA COUNTY
PROBATION
After several years of litigation, Local 320 finally has a ruling on the matter of whether County Probation Offi-
cers (CPOs) in Itasca County have the right to collectively bargain with their employer.

Local 320 first petitioned the Bureau of Mediation Services (BMS) in 2013 for a unit clarification and for certifi-
cation as the exclusive representative. The County claimed not to be the employer.

The County argued it does not have control over CPOs, the District Court does, and any District Court Judge
can remove or discipline a Probation Officer.

Local 320 asserted that Public Employees Labor Relations Act (PELRA) is the controlling authority and Minn.
Stat. 244.19 has no effect on the right to negotiate terms and conditions of employment with the County. Terms
and conditions include wages, hours of work, and a grievance procedure. The Union also noted a County Sheriff
has the right to remove personnel at their pleasure, but the County would have authority to negotiate with the
Union and contractual due process rights need to be followed.

The County’s argument did not change the fact that Itasca County has “final budgetary approval authority” and
therefore the BMS ruled Itasca County is the employer and CPOs have the right to negotiate with their employer.

Local 320 tried to negotiate a collective bargaining agreement shortly after that ruling but could not come to an
agreement on how Minn. Stat. 244.19 applied. Local 320 then petitioned twice for mediation and no agreement
could be reached.

The County then asked the District Court for summary judgment but the Court refused to issue an award and
referred the matter to the 2nd Judicial District in Ramsey County. That Court also refused to rule on the matter
saying the BMS ruling could only be challenged by Writ of Certiorari which the County did not do and the issue
could be taken before an arbitrator if the COPs didn’t want to strike.

The case ended up in interest arbitration on February 23, 2018, where an arbitrator ruled in favor of the Union
on all issues but seniority, which the arbitrator reluctantly sent back for the Union and County to negotiate in the
next contract. The County will likely appeal this decision in court so the matter may not be over, but Local 320 is
confident the arbitrator’s ruling will stand on its own.

This is a major victory for Teamsters Local 320 as Itasca County Probations Offciers are the only county proba-
tion unit in the State of Minnesota currently under a collective bargaining agreement. There are state probation
agents and community corrections personnel under union contracts, but Itasca County is the only employer to
have its CPOs unionized.

There are thirty other Minnesota counties with CPOs consisting of nearly 200 public employees who do not have
guaranteed rights and union protections. For the past five years Teamsters Local 320 has continued to lead the
fight for CPO rights and protections, and we are not letting up!

Page 5
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can help you with:
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We can assist you with balancing and managing many
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Remember... Problems and stress can and do happen!
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Call the Service Bureau today. We’re here to help!
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612-676-3700 (or 24-hour toll free 1-800-979-9725)
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