Local 2992 - For the Working Drivers of San Andreas

[Juitra]

Legal Faction

 

Brotherhood of Carriage and Freight Drivers

Who are we?

We are the largest and most diverse union in the USA. In 1909, the union started as a merger of the two leading associations, The Union of Wagon Drivers and the Brotherhood of Cab Drivers. These workers were the backbone of Americas robust economic growth, but they needed to organize to wrest their fair share from greedy corporations. Today, the Union’s task is exactly the same. 

The Brotherhood are known as the champion of drivers and mechanical workers that support professional drivers, but have organized workers in virtually every occupation imaginable, both professional and non-professional, private sector and public sector. 

The Brotherhood stand ready to organize workers who want to bargain collectively. Once a contract is negotiated and signed, the Union works to enforce it—holding management’s feet to the fire and invoking contract grievance procedures if management chooses not to. Wages and benefits under Brotherhood contracts are markedly better than those of non-union employees in similar jobs. Brotherhood contracts are the guarantors of decent wages, fair promotion, health coverage, job security, paid time-off and retirement income.

The union also performs vital tasks in such areas as pension management, safety & health, community outreach, governmental affairs and communications. For more than a century, we have been a public voice for the rights and aspirations of working men and women and a key player in securing them.

 

History

For more than a century, the Brotherhood has helped millions of workers achieve the American Dream. Our success is a testament to those who came before us, who stood together to form a union and a labor movement. These workers fought for the rights and privileges that today most Americans take for granted. Without the solidarity of unions, there would be no weekends, no pensions and no health insurance.

The founding members of the union foresaw the growth and promise of the Brotherhood as a model for workers everywhere. And they developed a philosophy that is as true and vital today as it was in 1909:

"Let each member do his duty as he sees fit. Let each put his shoulder to the wheel and work together to bring about better results. Let no member sow seeds of discord within our ranks, and let our enemies see that the Teamsters of this country are determined to get their just rewards and to make their organization as it should be -- one of the largest and strongest trade unions in the country now and beyond."

 

The Brotherhood in Los Santos / San Andreas

Local 2992 was created to represent the drivers of Los Santos , regardless of whether they are working in the haulage, taxi cab or any other associated driving profession.  The local dates back to 1961, but following the decline of transportation related jobs in the recession driven 1980’s it  shrunk into obscurity and got the point where it nearly folded. 

Several members kept it alive, but the activities were limited to an almost social level as the Local simply didn’t have the membership to undertake any meaningful activism.

Now, however things are changing.  San Andreas, and particularly Los Santos, is going through period of economic boom.  People are flocking to the city from throughout the USA or many other worldwide destinations and this in turn is creating a demand for goods and the opportunity for jobs.  However, several drivers have noticed that the haulage and taxi company owners are increasingly lining their own pockets at the expense of the hard working citizen.  It has come to the attention of the Local that in a lost of cases the drivers are being hired with not commitment to either hours or a minimum weekly salary, nor are the owners making any provision for owners during times where work is not available or when the driver is not able to work due to ill health.  Clearly this suits the owners of the companies in their big houses and fancy cars, but the local recognises the hardship this causes for the drivers and their families.

But the Local has two bigger fights that it must undertake on behalf of it’s membership.  The leadership of Local 2992 has become aware of two very disturbing practices that it believes go against the drivers in the worst wat.

Firstly it believes that collusion is active between the owners of several businesses as they seek to control the wages of their employees and in turn create restrictive trade practices that limit the opportunities of drivers.  The is illegal as both a cartel practice, but also in restricting the opportunity for job movement to take advantage of better wages or for drivers to receive pay increases to reflect the true demands for their skills.

Secondly, it is understood that certain companies are engaging in pricing wars through the illegal practice of running operations at a loss.   Their goal is to remove the competition from the market and in turn take away alternative employment from the drivers through the creation of a monopoly status. 

If successful the Local would seek to expose this underhanded practices and to manage the best interests of its brothers to ensure they receive the fairest deal possible.

In a market where new haulage companies seem to be opening every day it is becoming increasingly important that the drivers have formal representation of their interests.

How does it work?

For a small fee the Local will act on behalf of the drivers to secure the best working conditions and rewards on behalf of its members.  It will use the collective power of the brotherhood to ensure that fair pay is offered, that medical insurance is provided and that pensions are considered.  It will work to expose illegal activity and racketeering to ensure that the benefits of the booming economy are shared fairly with its members.

The local expects to support it’ members in times of hardship and in any employment dispute that arises with an employee.  Through proactive engagement the local intends to understand the needs of its members, but also to strike good working relationships with the main employers within the greater San Andreas economy.

As well as the more serious aspects of the local its mission is also to bring social collectiveness to the members and will organise social gatherings on key dates for its members, such as 4^th July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The Organisation

To manage the day to day operations of the local a small team of employees would need to be administer the day to day workings of the team. 

 

OOC

I want to bring this faction to life as I think the amount of people working in the driving trades or supporting driving trades in SA is going up considerably and it would be a good time to bring some role play dynamic to the relationship between driver and employer.  It would offer RP opportunities for business managers and owners beyond the basic hire and fire routine that is established, along with creating a reputational assessment of the various employers to ensure that prospective workers know the good companies to work for etc.  It would also give the employers the chance to RP less favourable working conditions and create conflict the unions.

P.S. I have some pictures to add in, but need to work out how to remove my existing attachments from my account as my allocation is full. I will do this if the faction is approved.

 

 

[Selena]

Spawn and I discussed this as I read over it, here are some direct notes, don't take it to heart or anything, just trying to help!

 

1. Needs to focus more on the union and not the racketeering, it gives off mixed signals to what your main ambition is
2. Need to be more direct with your approach - less ambiguous (mainly because I'm unsure of what your full goal and aim is)
3. Need to add more "eye" candy, draw people in. 

Edited April 15, 2020 by Selena

[Juitra]

I'm going to close this following redirection of my characters due to IG circumstances.  Thanks for the feedback.

 

I understand the direction of approach, it was always meant to be a legal faction and the racketeering element highlighted to me to the need for such a union given some tactics being used by employers like wage fixing.  This was intend to legally challenge such behaviour.  However IG circumstances bought this journey to an end.

 

I'm going to have a go at another faction resulting in an alternative character development over the last month or so..

 

Please archive.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Jankara
Close please

[Selena]

Archived upon request.