Austin Alonzo Kansas City Business Journal November 29, 2012 View the original piece YRC Worldwide Inc. proposes closing 12 customer service centers, including one in Kansas City, and consolidating the work in Springfield, Mo., according to a document filed with the Teamster’s Union. In a document dated Nov. 7, Overland Park-based YRC (Nasdaq: YRCW) requests a “Multi-Region Change of Operations hearing as soon as possible” to discuss the possible consolidation of YRC customer service, freight...

Robert Jablon Associated Press November 29, 2012 View the original piece Striking workers shut down the largest terminal at the Port of Los Angeles for a second day Wednesday, and the job action later widened to close three terminals at the Port of Long Beach, threatening to paralyze the nation's busiest port complex. About 70 clerical workers struck the APM Terminals operations on Pier 400 at Port of Los Angeles on Tuesday, raising the ante...

Jon Tevlin Star Tribune November 29, 2012 View the original piece To paraphrase the slogan from a pirate-themed rum commercial, some local Teamsters seem to "have a little Captain in them," both literally and figuratively. But accusations of missing hooch, including a lot of Captain Morgan rum, is only the start of a mind-boggling 139-page report by the Teamsters Independent Review Board (IRB) alleging fraud and corruption by Local 120 bosses and their family members....

Tim Nelson Minnesota Public Radio November 27, 2012 View the original piece Teamsters members in Minnesota are waiting for the next shoe to drop in a union scandal that has removed the top leadership from Blaine-based Teamsters Local 120. A report by the Washington, D.C.-based Independent Review Board (IRB) alleged widespread corruption by the union's top leaders, including Secretary Treasurer Brad Slawson, and his son, President Brad Slawson, Jr. "There is evidence that the Secretary...

Mike Hughlett Star Tribune November 25, 2012 View the original piece The Teamsters Club in Fargo, N.D., has been a money loser, propped up by subsidies from its owner, Teamsters Local 120. But red ink aside, the bar allegedly managed to pay more than $1,000 a month in stipends to two key members of its oversight board, Brad Slawson Sr. and Brad Slawson Jr. The Slawsons were each drawing six-figure salaries as the top two...

The Nation November 26, 2012 View the original piece Friday was a historic day for labor organizing, as workers and their supporters at 1,000 Walmarts across the country protested on the superstore’s most profitable day. Unsurprisingly, Walmart told a different story, claiming that the Black Friday actions had little impact. But the hundreds of employees who walked out—despite threats of arrest and retaliation—showed that workers are willing to stand up to the nation’s largest employer....

Dawn McCarty and Phil Milford Bloomberg News November 21, 2012 View the original piece Hostess Brands Inc. won interim approval from a bankruptcy judge to shut down and start selling the Twinkie maker's assets after last-minute mediation with its bakers' union failed to resolve a contract dispute, leaving more than 18,000 jobs at risk. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain today approved Hostess's request to close at a hearing in White Plains, New York. Chief Executive...

James Surowiecki The New Yorker November 17, 2012 View the original piece Hostess Brands is not dead just yet, but the prospects for the company's survival are now dim at best. Hostess—which still makes iconic food products (or sort of food products) like Twinkies and Ding Dongs—went into Chapter 11 back in January for the second time in eight years, in an attempt to get out from under a pile of debt and labor obligations....

Karen Robinson-Jacobs The Dallas Morning News November 15, 2012 View the original piece With less than five hours to go before a 4 p.m. deadline, the Teamsters Union Thursday recommended that bakers’ union members on strike against the maker of Hostess Twinkies vote by secret ballot on whether to continue their strike. Hostess Brands has given members of the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers International Union until 5 p.m. Eastern time to get back...

Jane Slaughter Labor Notes November 09, 2012 View the original piece At the Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) convention last week, local officers and rank and filers dissected bargaining now underway with UPS, by far the largest employer of Teamsters at 250,000 members. To an observer who's seen nasty concessions foisted on dozens of unions, it was remarkable to hear members focused instead on advances their union has vowed to win. Even profitable companies...