Convoy 228 July/August 2005

IRB Charges International Rep

admin — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 15:21:18 -0500

July 28, 2006: On July 14 the Independent Review Board (IRB) charged John Kikes with a long period of purposeful association with Billy Hogan after Hogan was banned from the Teamsters in 2002.

Members Prepare 2006 Campaign

admin — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 15:57:33 -0500

July 17, 2006: Do you want to see a change in leadership in the Teamsters? Beating Hoffa in the 2006 election will take two things: a strong reform slate and a well organized campaign network.

Will the Teamsters Union "Change to Win"?

admin — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 13:45:21 -0500

Carhaul Deals Endanger Contract

admin — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 13:39:54 -0600

Recent deals designed to allow carhaul employers to attract business are in clear violation of the national contract and raise questions about which direction the division is heading.

Teamster Officials Meet to Discuss UPS Contract Enforcement

admin — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 16:42:17 -0600

In June, officers and BAs attended a meeting in Chicago to discuss the international union’s plans for UPS contract enforcement. Three years into the UPS contract, it is the first such meeting held.Whether the Chicago meeting is the start of something good or just a pre-IBT election chance to politic remains to be seen. But if the IBT says they are setting a new course, we should hold them to it.

One point addressed at the meeting was the need for the grievance panels to standardize decisions and stop undercutting contract language. What mechanism will the IBT put in place to make this happen? The horse-trading of grievances and other nonsense will only stop if the International provides strong and clear leadership. At the meeting, James Hoffa and others laid the blame on local leaders, but the problems are national in scope and the key grievance panels are run by International appointees.

Information gathering was stressed as key to the IBT’s plan. They distributed a packet consisting of four sheets that locals can use to gather information from members on 9.5 (excessive overtime) grievances, supervisors working, and subcontracting. These are important problems across the country. If you don’t see this material from your local in the near future, you may want to ask about it.

The meeting was advertised as the place where plans would be put forward to deal with the issue of UPS’ growing nonunion divisions: Overnite, Logistics, feeder work subcontractors, and SCS. No such plan was put forward.
There may be more meetings and more mailings to UPS members as the campaign for IBT president heats up.

Pension Reform Debate Leaves Out Families, Future of Pension System

admin — Sun, 28 Aug 2005 13:25:37 -0500

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

Hoffa Establishes Procedure for Potential Raids on AFL-CIO Unions

admin — Fri, 05 Aug 2005 15:09:33 -0500

August 5, 2005: On July 26, one day after James Hoffa pulled the Teamsters out of the AFL-CIO, the Teamster General Counsel sent a notice to all Teamster locals establishing a procedure to be followed

Hoffa Administration Issues “Whitewash” Report

admin — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 15:11:37 -0500

July 27, 2005: The International Union has released the “McDonald Report” (available on the IBT website) which purports to demonstrate that the Hoffa administration is working hard to maintain a c

Early IBT Delegate Elections Kick Off

admin — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 14:54:46 -0500

July 27, 2005: Many Teamsters are already setting their sights on running for IBT Convention delegate. Members are hot about benefit cuts and other broken promises by the Hoffa administration.

Pension Cuts Hit New England

admin — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 13:21:58 -0500

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.

New England Teamsters Hit with Pension Cuts

admin — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 13:06:41 -0500

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.

Hoffa Pushes Pension Bill That Could Cut Your Benefits

admin — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 12:57:34 -0500

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.

Hoffa Caught Using Union Funds for Campaign Poll

admin — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 15:07:31 -0500

July 27, 2005: The IBT election is more than a year away and already TDU has caught James Hoffa using members’ dues money for campaign purposes.

Hoffa Corruption Wrecks Possibility of Ending Government Supervision

admin — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 15:03:09 -0500

July 27, 2005: In an embarrassing retreat from his promises to “run a corruption-free union” and “get the government out of the Teamsters,” James Hoffa has officially sacked all plans to try t

Southern California Bargaining Gets a New Look

TDU — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 19:01:00 -0500

July 5, 2005: For the first time in recent history, the grocery contracts in Southern California will be negotiated separately.

Electronic Leashes for Warehouse Workers?

TDU — Mon, 04 Jul 2005 19:00:00 -0500

July 5, 2005: Many warehouse and grocery workers are probably familiar with RFID technology used to track inventory, but The Guardian, a major British newspaper, reports that warehouse operators in Br

'Fooled' at Contract Vote

TDU — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 19:17:11 -0500

When our last contract was negotiated, the BA didn’t tell us the whole story. The local had a meeting where they just told us about the wages and a few other things.

Part-Time Pension Puzzle

TDU — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 19:10:40 -0500

I recently heard that some part-timers at UPS are in Teamster pension plans. As a part-timer I was in the company plan.