DHL Contract Bargaining Opens
September 18, 2007: On September 19, Brad Slawson (co-chair of the DHL negotiating committee) will meet with DHL management to set a schedule and location for bargaining. We are getting near to crunch time in the contract that will determine our Teamster future at DHL. Meanwhile, another important set of negotiations is starting. On September 24, bargaining formally opens for the National Master Freight Agreement (NMFA). The Freight Division held a meeting for all affected...
Congressman Says FMCSA Too Easy on Repeat Safety Offenders
September 17, 2007: By Kevin Jones: The federal government is not being tough enough on trucking companies that are violating safety laws, says Rep. Jim Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat, on Friday cited a recently released report by the General Accounting Office, compiled at the committee’s request, that concluded the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is identifying high risk carriers, but not following through with tough...
UPS Negotiators Told to Finish Supplements This Week
September 17, 2007: National bargaining has been suspended until Sept. 24. Negotiations on more than 30 supplemental agreements and local riders are being held this week. Local and supplemental negotiators have been instructed by the IBT to complete bargaining on all supplements by the end of the week. Supplements are regional and local addenda to the national agreement that contain language governing our working conditions and rights. Across the country, management has taken a hard...
BLET President Caught Embezzling
September, 17, 2007: The president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) Don Hahs has been charged with embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from the union. Hahs spent the money to pay for everything from Cleveland Cavs tickets to a fishing expedition to Alaska. The Independent Review Board (IRB) issued the charges on September 13. Hahs has been a Hoffa International Rep since the BLET merged with the Teamsters in 2004. His...
Hours of Service: Confusion Continues
Sept. 14, 2007: There is still no word yet on when the hours of service regulations for DOT-covered drivers will change back to 10 hours of driving time.It is certain that there will be at least a short delay in the change, because of a motion filed by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington. The change back to 10 hours (and elimination of the 34-hour “restart” provision) cannot...
Hoffa Promises “Very Best Agreement” Ever at UPS
September 12, 2007: If you liked the “Best Contract Ever” President Hoffa has good news for you. In the latest update on negotiations from the International Union, Hoffa announces that he is committed to negotiating the “Very Best Agreement” this year. Unfortunately, UPS Teamsters looking for more substantial information from our International Union leadership will find that, despite our union’s new Contract Hotline, members are still being kept out in the cold when it comes...
Bobby Hogan Charged by IRB
September 11, 2007: Bobby Hogan, the secretary treasurer of Chicago Local 714, has been charged by the Independent Review Board (IRB) with bringing reproach upon the union. Hogan is charged with hiring a business partner of his father, Billy Hogan. It is up to the Hoffa administration to conduct a hearing, or to pass the matter back to the IRB for a hearing. The Hogan family has run the 9,000-member local for decades as more...
Local 743 President Dumped, Reform Slate Nominated
September 11, 2007: Local 743 President Richard Lopez has broken the record for the shortest tenure by any Teamster official. Richard Lopez was appointed Local 743 President on September 1. Nine days later, he was not nominated for any office. In fact, he slinked out of the nominations meeting early. Members, hungry for change in a local notorious for its corruption and weak representation, nominated the New Leadership Slate, a full slate of reform candidates...
Officials Indicted for Stealing Local 743 Election
September 7, 2007: Local 743 President Richard Lopez and other officials have been indicted on charges of rigging their local election. Now reformers are preparing to run and win this fall. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Chicago announced today that four Local 743 officials were indicted on federal charges of conspiring to steal ballots to rig the 2004 local union election. The local’s top officials are dropping like flies. President Robert Walston mysteriously resigned two...