Teamsters Local 162 member Doug Nelson has retired after 40 years of service.  Doug worked at UPS and was a feeder driver.  He put forth a strong work and Union ethic and will now enjoy the fruits of his labor with his pension from the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension.  We wish Doug the best in his well earned retirement.

Teamsters Local 162 member Robert Brooks Lyle takes pride in his job as a full-time package car driver at United Parcel Service.  He has been a driver at UPS since 2006.  Brooks route serves the Multnomah Village area of Southwest Portland.

Local 162 members Padi Blanchard and Lloyd Schiermeister have both recently retired after long careers driving truck at Safeway/Albertsons.  Padi is a 40-Year Teamster (42-years in the industry) and at the time of her retirement the number one driver on the seniority board.  After Padi retired Lloyd took the number one spot and retired shortly thereafter.

Local 162 member Craig Robinson has retired after 40 years of Teamster membership.  Craig worked at UPS and spent over 32 years as a feeder driver and 8 years as a package car driver.  He is going to continue to pursue his bicycling interest in his retirement.  Local 162 appreciates the loyalty Craig has always showed for his Union and the dedication to his trade and craft.

At Local 162's general membership meeting on Sunday, November 4, attorney James Marsh educated members on the rights of worker's when they are hurt on-the-job.  Marsh is no stranger to Local 162 members as his legal focus is workers' compensation cases.  He has represented worker's in numerous industries throughout the Portland area for over 30 years.

Local 162 member Marcus Winklepleck is a full-time UPS package driver at the Portland Swan Island building.  He is also a Navy veteran.  Marcus filed a grievance with Local 162 ater reading a previous story we published concerning a grievance settlement about pension contributions for two military veterans in the Portland feeder department.

In a 12 month period Teamsters Local 162 processed and settled hundreds of grievances with a record total of over $567,000 on behalf of our members. The grievances involved supervisors working, seniority violations, payroll errors and other issues. Local 162 Business Agent Ben Vedus (far right) poses with members from the Swan Island preload and the Local 162 “big check”.

Local 162 filed a grievance and pursued an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board over the implementation of the zero tolerance distracted driver policy at Sysco back in August 2016. The grievance ultimately went to arbitration and the case before the arbitrator involved several issues to be decided.

Teamsters Local 162 members working at Hydro Extrusions packed the Union Hall on Sunday, June 3rd to vote on a renewal four-year contract that contained record increases to wages and pension each year of the contract.

Joint Council 37 President Tony Andrews called a special meeting in Portland of Teamster officers and members to discuss the present status of the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust and the Union's position on federal pension legislation under consideration in Congress.