December 5, 2007: Thousands of DHL Teamsters are facing a threat to their future jobs and our union’s strength, as their chief negotiator has stated his view that “part-timers will be in the contract” because “DHL is demanding them.”

The good news is that most DHL Teamsters are ready to say No to that concession, and No to concessions in general.

Expanding the use of part-timers—to destroy good full-time Teamster jobs and take away members’ overtime—should be a line no Teamster will cross.

Brad Slawson, Hoffa’s chief negotiator with DHL, made the bold admission that when the company demands, he goes along, on a Nov. 11 rank-and-file conference call.

DHL says it wants part-timers, just like UPS. Members on the call pointed out that comparisons with the UPS contract are off the mark—UPS Teamsters make $6 more per hour, and that gap is growing. Slawson had no comment in response.

Slawson is bargaining “operational supplements” on a national basis, where the good language of the National Master Freight Agreement can be watered down. This process makes the local and regional supplements almost irrelevant. Some supplemental negotiations have not even started—and how can they, with Slawson negotiating his own “supplements” and keeping members and local officers in the dark.

The answer is for DHL Teamsters to be prepared—and send that signal now—to reject any agreement containing concessions.

Home Deliveries

There are plenty of other issues on the table as well. One that needs to be dealt with is our loss of work due to the home delivery deal with the post office. This deal originally was made as a start-up, with the promise that as business grew, the delivery work would return to DHL. A committee was set up to monitor it, and a formula was agreed to for the recapture of our work. It never happened.

It’s time to end that deal and bring the work back to DHL Teamsters.