Using your union’s legal right to acquire information from the employer can help you defend your rights and win grievances and arbitrations. This right is established by the National Labor Relations Act. Unfortunately, many members don’t know about this right, and many union representatives don’t use it unless members specifically ask them to. This article outlines some of the basics of the right to information and how to use it. You will need more detailed...

A study by TDU of truck safety whistleblower cases shows that a member awareness campaign by the Teamsters Union could drastically boost the number of complaints filed, and won, by drivers. This could mean many lives and many Teamsters jobs saved. Section 31105 of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (STAA) protects drivers (and some other motor carrier employees, such as mechanics) from retaliation over reporting truck safety problems. OSHA is charged with the power to...

Are the finances of the International Union in order? Is there a balanced budget? Is more money going into organizing or into multiple salaries? TDU, with the aid of financial experts, has reviewed a number of documents including the “Officers’ Report” produced for theIBT Convention, LM-2 financial reports on file with the Department of Labor, and audited financial statements of the International Union. This research has shown that James Hoffa is playing politics with the...

January 26, 2007: In 2002 UPS made record after tax profits of $2.4 billion, the most of any transport corporation in the world. That was when the “Best Contract Ever” was signed between Hoffa and management. But by 2005 those after-tax profits jumped 62 percent to $3.9 billion, and in 2006, UPS’s after-tax profit exceeded $4 billion for the first time ever. An increase of over 70 percent during this contract in profits. During that...

January 26, 2007: These contract improvements would restore and strengthen our pensions: Higher Contributions. UPS is making record profits (more than $4 billion in after-tax profits last year alone). More of that money needs to go to financing a secure retirement for the Teamsters who make this company run. Include UPS Part-Timers in All Teamster Pension Funds. Part-timers are not included in Teamster pension plans in the Central States and in much of the East....

January 26, 2007: First UPS demanded benefit cuts in out major Teamster pension plans.Now, management is trying to convince us that they have the solution to our pension problems.With our pension and retiree health benefits at stake, it's ciritical that working Teamsters get the facts. Fact: UPS’s Plan Would Mean a Smaller Pension UPS management wants us to believe that the company would deliver better retirement benefits. In fact, management’s own figures show that UPS...

By Gina Alvarez, Local 743 Steward, CSPF Office, Chicago There are 335 Teamsters who work at the Central States Funds office, and we had not had a steward’s election for over four years. A group of us contacted Local 743 regarding holding elections, and as usual there was no response. We started a petition to hold an election for new stewards. When we were done, more than two-thirds of the membership had signed up to...

January 26, 2007: The “Fighting for the Future” slate is getting organized to make positive changes for all 4,300 Local 726 members in metro Chicago. Local 726 members work for the City of Chicago, Chicago Transit Authority the State of Illinois, Illinois Toll way, Police Departments, Fire Departments and other public sector work places around the state. The contract at City of Chicago expires July 1, 2007. Fighting for the Future“We’ve been reaching out to...

January 26, 2007: In a recent statement on UPS national contract talks, IBT Parcel Division Director Ken Hall announced he would also continue bargaining with UPS Freight on a contract covering 125 employees at the Indianapolis terminal—the only UPS Freight barn represented by our union. The outcome of the simultaneous contract talks will determine the future of benefits and contract standards for UPS and freight Teamsters alike for years to come. Will our union use...

January 26, 2007: Eight hundred Kroger Teamsters in Louisville, Ky. are still fighting for their jobs. On Jan. 13, Local 89 members voted unanimously to approve a strike if Kroger goes ahead with plans to outsource its Kentucky Distribution Center. As we reported in the last issue of Convoy, Kroger wants to outsource the management of its Louisville facility to two third-party logistics companies: Transervice Logistics would take over the trucking operation, while Zenith Logistics...