May 16, 2008: The Central States Pension Fund plans to extend the 2002 pension cuts until approximately 2028, according to plan documents obtained by Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU).

May 1, 2008: Two months after their fund froze working members’ pension accrual, the movement to protect Teamster pensions is growing in Baltimore Local 355.

April 17, 2008: Teamsters for a Democratic Union is a movement of Teamsters who want to make our union stronger and more accountable to working and retired Teamsters.

April 9, 2008: After two months of demanding more information about the pension cuts in Local 355, members are finally getting some answers.

March 27, 2008: How many times have officials in the Hoffa administration sold a contract by promising—in writing—that Teamster pensions will be “maintained and possibly improved,” only to

April 18, 2008: “‘Red Zone’—Why it is better than the ‘Yellow Zone’”: That’s the surprising headline that appeared in a newsletter issued by the Central States Fund in March.

March 27, 2008: Teamsters in New York Local 804 will vote this month on bylaws changes that will put more pension and contract information in the hands of the membership.

March 14, 2008: Trustees in the Maryland Local 355 Pension Fund have cut the fund’s annual accrual rate down to zero.

January 30, 2008: UPS reported a quarterly loss on Wednesday due to its $6.1 billion one-time payment to the Central States Pension fund.

January 22, 2008: As of January 1, Teamsters in pension plans have new, expanded rights to obtain information from their pension fund.

January 10, 2008: Many Teamster pension funds have shifted their benefit structure to one based on an annual accrual, or multiplier.

December 26, 2007: The trucking industry association is bragging about new concessions in the tentative deal at Yellow/Roadway.

December 5, 2007: The removal of 44,000 UPS full-time Teamsters from Central States opens the door to lower pensions for all Teamsters down the road—not just in the Central States.

December 5, 2007: This is the second part of our series on the impact of the Pension Protection Act (PPA), which takes effect on January 1, 2008.

December 5, 2007: The Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Fund, which covers most Teamsters in the Western Region, is ending cuts in pension accruals that were imposed in July 2003.

October 25, 2007: The Pension Rights Center is honoring Frank Bryant for his efforts to fight anti-worker pension legislation and stop UPS's Central States pension grab.

October 17, 2007: The Freight Division is taking two very different strategies from others in the Hoffa administration.

October 17, 2007: The proposed tentative agreement would pull 44,000 full-timers out of the Central States Pension Plan and put them into a new UPS Plan.

October 17, 2007: Management and some union officials are selling the UPS Pension Plan in the Central States areas on the basis that it offers unreduced 25- and 30-and-out benefits of $2,000 and $3

October 17, 2007: Rumors are flying about the Pension Protection Act, the pension legislation that starts to take effect on Jan. 1.

UPS and some Teamster officials are spreading rumors about new pension legislation and our contract. Get the bulletin at MakeUPSDeliver.org.

October 5, 2007: From the BNA Daily Labor Report: Officers and members of a local Teamsters union must arbitrate with United Parcel Service of America Inc.

October 1, 2007: United Parcel Service Inc.'s five-year tentative contract agreement with the Teamsters will allow it to pay $6.1 billion to gain greater control of some pensions and will provi

September 29, 2007: United Parcel Service Inc. and the Teamsters union are closing in on a labor agreement that would restructure and possibly lower the company's pension obligations.

August 31, 2007: Chief negotiators James Hoffa and Ken Hall announced today they will let UPS break out of the Central States Pension Fund in an early deal to be inked by October.

Hoffa Announces He Will Cut Central States Deal

August 23, 2007: “It is the Teamsters’ pension—and particularly the multi-employer plan—that gives the union much of its draw and power, industry observers say.” —Traffic World Magaz

August 23, 2007: If UPS or ABF or any other corporation says they will do better than a $3,000 pension at 30 years, keep in mind that with the increased funding, that’s not hard to do.

August 23, 2007: Sometimes, your vote is your voice. But on the issue of splitting UPS from the Central States Pension Fund, you won’t get a vote, unless you work at UPS.

August 20, 2007: Industry experts say that pension assets are up, but our union’s power will be down if UPS is allowed to break out of Central States.

August 13, 2007: The assets of the Central States Pension Fund have jumped $700 million in the first six months of this year, reaching $21.4 billion, and could reach $22 billion by the end of 2007.

August 3, 2007: by Thomas L.

July 18, 2007: Some defenders of management’s pension proposal claim that a $4 billion withdrawal liability payment from UPS would fix Central States and safeguard members’ benefits.

June 28, 2007: At a press conference today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced the Restoring Pension Promises to Workers Act of 2007, which contains a number of provisions “to help ensure Ame

June 26, 2007: Logistics Management says there is good news for shippers in our union's current round of bargaining with UPS, and in the upcoming NMFA negotiations.

June 18, 2007: By John Gallagher, for Traffic World - Pension benefits are in play as never before in the current round of negotiations between UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters,

June 8, 2007: UPS management has been trying to win control over our pensions for years.

June 8, 2007: As negotiators for UPS and our union square off over the pension issue, members in the Eastern Region’s two largest UPS locals want to know whether early bargaining will deliver a r

“That fund is not 100 percent funded. When that fund gets to 100 percent based on their rules, they’ll do the right thing.”

May 16, 2007: Jim Hoffa and Ken Hall promised that early negotiations would send a message to every Teamster employer not to mess with our pension funds.

May 11, 2007: “We believe there is an opportunity in this negotiating cycle to withdraw from some or all of these [Teamster pension plans] and provide benefits directly

May 11, 2007: by John Gallagher in Traffic World Online --Arkansas Best Corp.

May 9, 2007: Teamsters in the Central States were told that the 2002 “Best Contract Ever” would protect our benefits for the life of the contract.

April 2, 2007: UPS’s $4 billion profits and new pension fund rules mean the company will pay record contributions toward our benefits in the 2008 contract.

April 2, 2007: Assets at the Western Conference of Teamsters (WCT) Pension Trust now top $29 billion and the trust is 100 percent fully funded.

April 2, 2007: Healthcare costs are skyrocketing, putting union members on the defensive at the bargaining table.

April 2, 2007: The 2008 UPS and Freight contracts are our chance to win the contributions we need to protect and increase our benefits.

April 2, 2007: President James Hoffa has been briefed by the different Teamster benefit funds on what we need to win in the UPS and freight contracts to increase our benefits.

February 27, 2007: While most Teamster pension plans have some type of “re-employment rule” that prohibits retirees from drawing a pension while performing certain work, the biggest problems wi

February 27, 2007: The Central States Pension Fund has invested $54 million in Wal-Mart, a notorious union-buster.

January 26, 2007: These contract improvements would restore and strengthen our pensions:

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 a

December 5, 2006: When is an increase actually a cut? Teamsters in the Western Conference Fund are finding out the hard way.

December 5, 2006: While Hoffa can boast of a 65 percent winning margin overall in the IBT election, he would be well advised to look at the big groups of Teamsters who voted for a change of directi

October 18, 2006: For years the Central Pennsylvania Teamsters Fund was plagued with questionable administration and benefits inferior to many other Teamster Funds.

October 18, 2006: The misnamed “Pension Protection Act” of 2006 will go into effect in 2008. Here we provide a summary of some of its impact on Teamsters.

October 18, 2006: It’s up to Teamster members to lead the fight for pension justice.

UPS won critical new leverage in their campaign to take over our pension funds when the House and Senate passed the misnamed Pension Protection Act.

July 17, 2006: The big health care cuts that the Hoffa administration just slapped on Michigan freight Teamsters will spread to freight, UPS and carhaul Teamsters throughout the Central and Souther

July 17, 2006: In May, a delegation of Teamster local officers and members, some of them pictured above, converged on Washington to meet with Congressional reps about dangers for Teamsters in pendi

July 17, 2006: Effective August 1, all Michigan cartage Teamsters covered by the NMFA will have major cuts in medical coverage, as a result of moneys diverted from their fund to the Central S

June 6, 2005: Teamsters covered under the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust received a statement in May detailing how much benefit they earned in 2004.

March 16, 2006: The key senators to contact about the dangerous Red Zone Amendment are the ranking members of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee, Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Mike E

Teamster members are taking action now to protect our pensions from dangerous proposed legislation that makes it easier for multi-employer plans to cut retirement benefits.

The Western Conference Pension Fund has announced a big cut in pension accruals, effective July 1.

The pension justice movement has won an important victory for UPS Teamsters in the Central States Pension Fund.

September 15, 2005: The federal Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled on Sept. 8 against Teamster retirees who were fighting to broaden their right to work to supplement their Central States pension.

March 16, 2006: When the Central States Pension Fund trustees, led by chairman Fred Gegare, made drastic cuts two years ago, Teamsters knew their futures were not as secure as they once assumed.

December 6, 2005: Teamster and employer trustees of the Central States Funds agreed to changes in benefits to keep the overburdened multi-employer pension fund from collapsing, a Teamsters faction rep

December 5, 2005: For nearly a year, the Hoffa administration has been lobbying for legislation that would allow Teamster benefit plans to cut members’ previously guaranteed pension benef

December 5, 2005: Employers across North America are attacking the pension and medical benefits of working Americans.

December 5, 2005: Hoffa’s PR Man dismisses the impact of the trustees’ actions: “Leebove said the changes at Central States and other pension funds should not be looked at as benefit cuts, since

December 5, 2005: In November, the Senate passed a version of pension reform that did not include provisions for cutting accrued benefits.

December 1, 2005: The Union Trustees of the Central States Pension Fund have announced an agreement with employers and the IRS that will lock the 2003 pension cuts in place for years to come.

November 1, 2005:When employer and union trustees colluded to cut their pensions, Teamster members in New York Local 805 fought back.

October 18, 2005: Pension reform legislation was approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee in early September and appeared to be on a fast track.

September 15, 2005: Fighting pension cuts can make a difference.

September 15, 2005: The fight for pension justice has focused on the U.S.

August 28, 2005: The current debate in Congress over pension “reform” tends to leave out the most important issues: protection of pension benefits for families, and protection of our pension syste

August 28, 2005: The recently announced pension cuts in New England went over like a Yankees victory in Fenway Park.

August 28, 2005: TDU member Frank Bryant wrote to tell us, “As you advised in your article ‘Taking Action to Protect Your Pension’ in the July/August issue of Convoy Dispatch, a group of my Rank

July 27, 2005: The Union Trustees on the New England Teamsters Pension Fund have agreed to new pension restrictions—including eliminating 25-and-out and 30-and-out pensions before age 57.

July 27, 2005: Teamsters in New England reacted angrily when the New England Pension Fund announced new benefit restrictions—including eliminating 25-and-out and 30-and-out pensions before age 57.

July 27, 2005: On June 29, a congressional committee passed a pension bill that would endanger Teamster pensions by making it easier for multi-employer plans to cut retirement benefits.

June 6, 2005:It's no secret that United Parcel Service wants to pull all their employees out of Teamster pension funds.

May 4, 2005: Members of Local 407 received the letter below from their local. It’s a short summary of information provided to the local by the Central States Pension Fund.

April 29, 2005: The recently announced pension cuts in New England went over like a Yankees victory in Fenway Park.

February 17, 2005: Boston Local 25 President Ritchie Reardon told Joint Council 10 that the IBT Parcel Division approved a mid-contract giveback to UPS that violates language in the New England sup

January 28, 2005: On December 9 Judge James B Moran directed the trustees of the Teamster Central States Pension Fund to turn more documents over to participants in th

November 15, 2004: In the 1960's and 1970's, the Teamsters' huge Central States pension fund was a wellspring of union corruption.

November 4, 2004: Teamster members have been pushing for trustees to protect pension benefits, and to win higher employer contributions to make up for the stock market downfall following September

February 28, 2003: “I’m planning to retire in three years.

February 27,2003: In the Western Conference Pension Plan, each year you work, and your employer makes contributions to the plan, your pension benefit grows.

November 5, 2002: The Central States Pension Fund, in a bulletin to all local unions dated November 2002, has finally made a comment on the sudden remo

July 15, 2002: The pressure is on!

July 15, 2002: Many Teamsters rely on their pension benefits to provide for a secure retire

April 30, 2002: The latest wrinkle in the fight to salvage decent pensions from the troubled Central Pennsylvania Pension Fund is a proposed merger with t