In March, carhaulers voted on their national contract for the third time, and they have passed on a valuable lesson to some 300,000 Teamsters under the UPS, Freight and UPS Freight contracts.

In the first vote, carhaulers voted NO by 87%, and in doing so they defeated big wage concessions. In the second vote, carhaulers voted NO by a lesser margin, and improved job security language. Two big wins.

How Did They Do it?

They won a better contract despite having a national bargaining committee that was completely out of touch with the rank and file. The rank and file—with the leadership of Teamsters United—took control.

They held national conference calls of up to 1000 carhaulers to hear reports from carhauler leaders such as Fred Zuckerman, John Thyer of St. Louis Local 604 and Bill Frisky of Cleveland Local 964, and ask questions and discuss contract issues. A national network, involving members from all carhual locals, worked together.

National coordination was key to focusing on the major issues, uniting the rank and file, and standing up to lies. Each time, the Hoffa administration announced that a NO vote meant a strike. That lie didn’t work, because members were informed and united.

The members have the power—and if we are organized we can use it. Plans for UPS, UPS Freight and Freight are being made now, so get in touch to get involved.

Freight Members are Ready to Fight

“The votes on the last freight contract showed members are ready to fight. We need to build off of those votes with a plan to win. That starts with enforcing contract language and winning grievances at the panels. It also means taking a stand for no more givebacks. We need to demand action from the International for a contract campaign that shows ABF and YRC management that our union is gearing up to win what we deserve.”

Marcus Bias, YRC
Local 705, Chicago

Carhaul Beat Concessions—You Can Do it Too

“The carhaul contract isn’t what we deserve, but it’s far better than the first two deals we rejected. With nobody standing up for us on the Hoffa negotiating committee, we built a solid majority against concessions. We did it with one-on-one conversations, conference calls, and using social media. It was the working Teamsters who won a decent contract and that’s the important lesson to learn—you can do it too!”

Paul Kubal, Jack Cooper Transport
Local 299, Detroit

UPS Freight: Let’s Get Organized to Beat Givebacks

“We’re a little over a year out from our next contract. We need to learn from what was accomplished in carhaul. They got organized nationally to beat back givebacks. Now’s the time to get that kind of networking and communication going at UPS Freight.”

Frank Gunderman, UPS Freight
Local 728, Marrieta, Ga.