Teamsters Local 995 - Las Vegas, Nevada

Have you ever wondered why when buying a house or car the lender inevitably inquires as to whether or not you and your coworkers are represented by a union? It is usually because they know that members of the union can’t be fired "at will," the employer will have to have just cause to terminate you. They know that your future wage increases are guaranteed by a labor agreement, that you will have major medical coverage so there is not a major risk that a medical claim will wipe out your life savings, that you likely have a pension program of some kind. All of those items will reduce the chances that you will not be able to pay off your loan debt. While those items represent a comfort to lenders, they should represent comfort to you and your family also.

It is a provision of our Labor Agreements that makes that happen. We also have thirty to forty five minute paid lunch periods every day with two fifteen minute paid breaks. Those are not items provided by law. Those are items provided by a labor agreement Your Labor Agreement.

Our members enjoy overtime at 1-1/2 times their hourly rate of pay for all hours worked which exceed eight hours in a day, forty hours in a workweek, if they don't get twelve hours off between shifts or if required to work on a sixth day in their work week. Our members receive 2 times their hourly rate of pay for any hours worked which exceed twelve hours in a workday and all hours worked on the 7th day of their workweek. The overtime provisions of State law do not apply to people who already receive hourly wages which exceed 1-1/2 times minimum wage. Your contract guarantees you receive these benefits.

Employers boast of their 401(k) plans. The fact is, if you don't put any money into it, you get nothing out of it. The truth is that most working people don’t put money away for a rainy day voluntarily. Under the Union’s defined pension plan, the employer contributes a minimum of $1.02 up to $3.40 per hour depending on your place of em-ployment for each compensable hour to the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan on your behalf. You will, upon retirement, receive a pension check for the rest of your life even if you live to be 120 years of age. That represents peace of mind and that contribution is guaranteed by your labor agreement. The employer cost per covered em-ployee ranges between $2,121.60 and up to $7,072.00 per year based on forty-hour workweeks. The more money going into the pension plan on your behalf, the more you will receive when you retire.

You will have one of the finest health plans in the country. A health plan which covers nearly every medical necessity from major medical, doctor visits, outpatient surgery, dental, vision, prescription drug, disability, life insurance and mental health care. A plan that far exceeds employer plans. A plan that is not important until you or your family needs immediate care. Under most employer plans, one major surgery may wipe out a lifetime of savings.

Your contract guarantees you one full year of recall rights in the event of a layoff. Nowhere in the law is it written that your employer must return you to work once you've been laid off.

Classification seniority. Assures you that a hotel cook or maid of 35 years can't come into your department with full seniority and displace one of our members. This happens all the time in non union shops. Classification seniority assures that the boss won't hire their son or daughter and give them a premium shift while forcing you to take a less desirable shift or days off.

Holidays, Guaranteed eight holidays per year paid at 2 1/2 times your hourly rate of pay when worked. You get paid for those holidays even if you are not scheduled to work that day. When the holiday coincides with the employee's 6th or 7th day of the workweek, the employee receives 3 times their hourly rate of pay for hours worked. If the holiday coincides with the employee's birthday, the employee will receive 3 1/2 times their hourly rate of pay. Nowhere is it written in the law that you will receive a special compensation for working a holiday. It is a contractual issue.

Vacations are not defined in the law. There are Nevada employers that provide no vacations for their employees and others that provide two weeks regardless of length of service. All of our Local Union contracts provide vacations, which go up to four weeks after twelve years of service.

Union Representation, Regardless which Teamsters Local 995 workplace you are employed at, you will be assigned a Union Representative. Any questions or concerns that you may be faced with concerning your workplace or treatment in your workplace may be brought to the attention of your Shop Steward. Your Shop Steward will be one of your coworkers, selected by their peers, to give you advice and representation when you need it and in your workplace.

Very few of our workplaces do not have a Shop Steward. In the event your new work area does not have a Shop Steward, every workplace does have a Union Business Representative assigned to it. You may contact that Union Representative by contacting our Union offices at any time.