LA Waste Strike Continues
October 23, 2007: As the strike of nearly 500 Waste Management Teamsters continues in Los Angeles, the International Union has called a meeting to discuss coordinated action and the national extension of picket lines. Local 396 members voted three times to reject contract offers that would reduce their health benefits and force Teamsters to pay out-of-pocket each month for their benefits, as the cost of healthcare rises. These concessions were defeated by a rank-and-file movement...
Chicago Teamsters Clean House!
October 22, 2007: The 12,000 Teamsters in Chicago Local 743 have reason to feel proud, with the victory of the New Leadership Slate in today's election. Long suffering under old guard leadership that overpaid themselves and underrepresented their members, Local 743 members can start the hard work of building a strong, democratic union. The 743 New Leadership Slate"The members did it!" exclaimed Richard Berg, the president-elect. "We got a fair election, fought hard against their...
UPS Teamsters Team Up to Fight Givebacks
October 22, 2007: UPS Teamsters across the country are passing out leaflets and spreading the word to mobilize against the historic givebacks in the proposed UPS contract. The National Negotiating Committee kept UPS Teamsters in the dark for more than a year about what's being discussed at the bargaining table. Now they are putting their concessionary deal to a vote on an accelerated schedule. Ballots will go out by Oct. 26 and be counted Nov....
LA Waste Workers on Strike
October 19, 2007: Nearly 500 Teamsters at Waste Management in Southern California are on strike, after repeatedly rejecting contract offers that would cut their healthcare. Southern California has the largest concentration of waste Teamsters in the country. In its third "final offer" management upped its wage proposal by 50¢ over five years. But the contract contains the same medical plan concessions. Teamsters would be moved to an inferior medical plan and would be stuck paying...
UPS Contract Bulletins
Informative bulletins on the proposed tentative UPS agreement are now available at Make UPS Deliver. Click here to check them out. Click here to download the bulletins at MakeUPSDeliver.org.
LA Teamsters Trash Contract Givebacks
October 17, 2007: Waste Management Teamsters in Southern California have once again rejected a substandard contract offer that would cut their health benefits. In all three, Waste Management Teamsters voted No-for a combined vote of 247 No to 115 Yes. This is the third time that Waste Management Teamsters have rejected these concessions while Local 396 officials have taken a neutral stand or supported the givebacks. It is time for our union to back these...
Does Early Deal Make UPS Deliver?
October 17, 2007: UPS entered into early negotiations with our union more than one year ago because shippers and stockholders were pressuring the corporation to reach an early settlement. That pressure gave our union leverage. Did our negotiators use it to make UPS deliver? Has the company put its best offer on the table? Those questions are now in the hands of Teamsters at UPS, who have until Nov. 16 to cast their votes on...
Collective Bargaining or Collective Begging
October 17, 2007: The most secretive negotiations in Teamster history have produced controversial agreements with UPS and UPS Freight. The agreements raise new questions about our union’s bargaining strategies just as negotiations are getting underway with freight employers and DHL. UPS and our union have inked a tentative early deal that delivers $9 an hour in wage and benefit improvements for full-timers over five years—but also includes monumental concessions. If approved, the contract would allow...