April 8, 2019, Prince Rupert – Fresh on the heels of opening a new office in Prince Rupert last December, Teamsters Local Union 31 is pleased to welcome twenty-six new brothers and sisters employed at the Coast 2000 Prince Rupert and Ridley Island Terminals.
The local union’s newest members operate lift equipment to offload lumber from either railcar or flatbed trucks. The wood product is then carefully handled by Teamsters and stuffed inside sea containers en route to international customers. The Teamsters container lift operators stack sea containers within the yard and lift sea containers on and off trailer chassis. The hostlers operate truck equipment that moves sea containers within the terminals.
The Coast 2000 Prince Rupert bargaining unit is one of two Coast 2000 units that Local Union 31 represents, the original being in Richmond, British Columbia. Over time, Teamsters members have helped create Coast 2000 into the largest leading third party logistics export service provider to the pulp and paper, lumber, and international steamship line (sea container) industries.
“Our members and Coast 2000 have had a long productive history together”, stated local president Stan Hennessy. “New Teamsters in Prince Rupert will now be able to utilize their collective agreement that contains great work-life balance, including extended vacation time, banked vacation overtime and accumulated time off.”
In late February, Local Union 31 President Stan Hennessy, Business Agent Anthony Kirk and Organizer Ben Hennessy conducted a union meeting with the new Coast 2000 Teamsters at the Highliner Hotel in Prince Rupert. Hennessy chaired the meeting and guided new members through their collective agreement. Since then, Anthony Kirk has met with members at the job sites.
“I’ve had a great time meeting with our new members”, stated Business Agent Kirk. “Everybody is enjoying the new contract and are happy to be Teamsters.”
The new collective agreement commenced on March 1, 2019, and will expire on February 28, 2022. The hourly rates of pay and benefits will make Coast 2000 the industry leaders in Prince Rupert.
“Our new Coast 2000 Prince Rupert brothers and sisters will now have access to Teamsters Health and Welfare and the Teamsters Pension Plan,” stated Organizer Ben Hennessy. “This contract is a difference maker to the lives of the Coast 2000 workers. The Organizing Department will be at non-union work sites to share the positive results of membership in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.”
To organize your workplace in British Columbia, please contact Ben Hennessy, Director of Organizing at Teamsters Local Union31 at 604-527-2722 or [email protected]
Workers elsewhere in Canada can confidentially fill out a form HERE to have a local organizer get in touch with them.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) represents more than 1.4 million active members employed in a wide range of industries in North America.
Teamsters Local Union 31 proudly represents 8,000 members in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory, including general truck drivers, transit and bus drivers, warehouse, grocery, courier, public sector, pulp and paper workers and limousine chauffeurs.
