Medicare, Social Security and Retirement Planning Workshop
Monday, Feb. 26th
12:00 Noon & 6:00 PM
Local 251 Union Hall
121 Brightridge Ave., East Providence RI 02914
2023 Teamster Women’s Conference
The Local 251 Women’s Committee joined up with 1,500 Teamster sisters—the most ever—at the Teamster Women’s Conference in Nashville.
Conference participants spent four days meeting with fellow Teamsters from across the county to share inspiration and strategies for building organizing campaigns and more power for women workers everywhere.
UPS Contract Ratified & In Effect
UPS Teamsters nationwide voted by 86 percent to ratify the new UPS contract. The New England Supplement was approved by 83 percent. Both contracts are in full force and effect. Read the official ballot count here.
Click here to download the entire National Agreement.
Click here to download the New England Supplement.
All wage increases will be paid retroactively to August 1 and will be included in an upcoming paycheck. United, we won!
Rhode Island Hospital Scholarship Application
Local 251 is awarding ten $3,500 college scholarships to children of Rhode Island Hospital Teamster employees. This benefit was negotiated in our union contract with Lifespan. A drawing will be held to determine the scholarship winners. Applicants must be the son or daughter of a Teamster member in good standing at Rhode Island Hospital to be eligible to apply.
Applications should be returned to the Union Hall or submitted to a Liaison, Union Representative, or the RIH H.R. Department. Only one (1) application per student. Applications must be received by July 31.
UPS Strike Authorization Vote
This Sunday, Teamsters are turning out to Local 251 in a show of force. Be there!
Get a contract update. Cast your ballot in a Teamster strike authorization vote.
Vote Yes to authorize a strike at UPS if management refuses to agree to a fair agreement before the contract expires on July 31.
Vote Yes to show management we are ready to strike and ready to win!
STRIKE AUTHORIZATION VOTE
Sunday, 10 am
Local 251 Union Hall
121 Brightridge Ave., East Providence, RI 02914
Members can also vote at the hall and at the gates of the UPS building on Tuesday, June 13.
Click here to download a leaflet to distribute and inform fellow members on the strike authorization vote.
RISD Workers Win Strike
RISD Workers Win Strike
Workers Secure First Contract, End Two Week Strike
Teamsters at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) have secured their very first contract following a two week-long strike and 10 months of negotiations. Workers unanimously voted to ratify the contract.
The new six-year contract includes wage increases averaging 33 percent, with a 22 percent increase to take effect July 2023, wage retroactivity to October 2022, strong benefits, longevity bonuses, and more.
“After months of negotiations and multiple strikes, we are relieved to finally have a strong contract,” said Regina Santos, RISD custodian and Local 251 member. “We are very grateful to our Teamster leaders, RISD students, community members, and everyone who stood in solidarity with us on the picket line and helped us get a fair contract.”
“Strikes work – and this victory makes that abundantly clear,” said Matt Taibi, Local 251 Secretary-Treasurer and Eastern Region International Vice President. “RISD workers stood side-by-side in unity and demanded higher pay and better benefits, despite pushback from RISD leadership. We are grateful to these workers for their commitment in holding the line and fighting for the contract they deserve.”
RISD Teamsters authorized a one-day unfair labor practice (ULP) strike in late March after Local 251 filed ULP charges against RISD for failing to pay a general wage increase and changing starting rates for workers without providing them with notice or an opportunity to bargain. When RISD continued to refuse to bargain with workers, they headed to the picket line indefinitely on April 3.
Members at First Student Providence Win Big in New Contract
Members at First Student Providence united, stuck together for months, reached out to the public, and prepared to go on strike to win a stronger contract.
The unity and pressure paid off.
Members have won a trend-setting contract that raises top pay to $37/hour by June 2026. The new four-year agreement also raises starting pay by more than $4 to $24/hour and guarantees members 180 paid work-days a year.
“We’re out on those roads every day and people from Rhode Island, you know what it’s like, and with the kids and we’re just glad. We’re glad. Everybody’s happy,” driver Chuck Hanrahan said.
“First Student drivers are invested invested in these jobs to support their families. These aren’t disposable, throwaway jobs. These workers are taxpayers, they’re parents, they’re members of the community and they deserve the best,” said Local 251 Secretary-Treasurer Matt Taibi.
Watch the news item on the new contract here.
Northeast Transportation Services Teamsters Vote Overwhelmingly To Ratify a New Contract
After a courageous strike from June 22, 2022 to January 17, 2023, Local 251 members approved a new collective bargaining agreement with the contractor for DHL Express in Pawtucket, RI.
Notable gains for the workers include:
The gains made in this contract should set the tone for workers looking for better conditions in the contractor-model of the growing logistics industry. Since organizing in 2017, the group has made incredible gains over two lengthy strikes.
The Company had sent WARN notices to workers and the Union signaling that they are closing operations March 25th. The Union demanded to bargain over those effects, if the Company actually does close.
Teamsters Local 251 leadership tips their hats to these courageous workers in demanding better working conditions and their willingness to fight for it.
Click here to watch a video on the background to the strike and the issues members’ were fighting to improve.
Apply to Get a Teamster Joint Council 10 Scholarship
Teamsters Joint Council 10 will be awarding scholarships to dependent children of eligible members, (excluding children of Officers, Business Agents, Organizers and Employees of Joint Council 10 and Local Unions affiliated with Joint Council 10).
Applications from Local 251 members must be submitted to Local 251 by March 20, 2023.
Click here to learn more and download the application.
Teamsters Local 251 
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