Raising the Minimum Wage
May 2, 2014: Seattle’s Mayor has announced the City will phase in a new minimum wage of $15 an hour, the highest in the nation. As the battle over the minimum wage heats up, will the Teamsters Union mobilize and help lead the fight? Seattle announced today that it will phase in a new minimum wage of $15 an hour. Businesses with more than 500 workers must meet that level within three years. That includes...
TeamCare Update for UPS Teamsters
May 2, 2014: How will the transition to new TeamCare coverage work for UPS Teamsters? TDU brings you the latest info and a sneak peak at upcoming mailings from TeamCare. Starting June 1, over 140,000 UPS Teamsters will see a change in their healthcare coverage; most of them will be moving into TeamCare. UPS Teamsters across the country mobilized to Vote No and fight healthcare cuts under TeamCare. The Vote No movement won some important...
Teamsters Organize to Defend Pensions
Mike Walden, a retired YRC Teamster from Akron Local 24, reports that the Northeast Ohio Committee to Protect Pensions has held three organizing meetings in the follow up to their well attended March meeting on pension issues. Committee members have organized a phone tree and email list to get the word out to other active and retired members. The committee has made plans to lease a bus for a trip to Washington, D.C. for the...
Opposing Concessions, Taking Back Our Union
April 28, 2014: One thousand Teamsters joined a conference call Saturday. Get the latest information on Hoffa-Hall over-riding the contract votes at UPS, including a leaflet and FAQs and find out what members are doing next Teamsters are taking action to oppose concessions, stand up to Hoffa and Hall and build a movement to take back our Union. One thousand members from UPS, UPS Freight, YRC and other employers joined a national conference call Saturday...
Wall Street Analyst: UPS got a cheap deal
April 25, 2014: Ken Hall promised, “The more they make, the more we take.” But Wall Street analysts say UPS will save $500 million in labor costs under the weak contract imposed by Hoffa and Hall. Wolfe Research, specializing in analysis of the transport industry, has this to say about the new contract: “UPS’s new 5-yr labor contract with the Teamsters is finally set to take effect on Fri. and we believe it’s a good deal...
Conference Call on Imposition of UPS Contract
A national Conference Call will be held on Saturday to discuss the imposition of the UPS contract by Hoffa and Hall, including concessionary supplements and riders that were overwhelmingly rejected by Teamster members. All Teamster activists -- not just UPS Teamsters -- who oppose concessions and support our right to vote on our contracts and supplements is invited to join this important Conference Call. The Conference Call will be held on Saturday, April 27 at 11 am...
UPS Announces $911 Million in Profits
April 24, 2014: One day after the International Union announced it is imposing concessions on 13,000 UPS Teamsters, the company announced it made first quarter profits of $911 million. Brown cashed in nearly a billion dollars despite severe winter storms that lowered the company’s operating profit by $200 million. Without the freak weather, UPS’s earnings would have easily surpassed last year’s first quarter profits of $1 billion. The company projects profits for the year between $4.7...
Hoffa-Hall Trash Right to Vote on Contracts
April 23, 2014: Hoffa and Hall have implemented the UPS contract, including concessionary supplements and riders that were overwhelmingly rejected by Teamster members. According to an International Union memorandum, the UPS contract, including all supplements and riders, will go into effect on April 25 and the new Teamcare health coverage will take effect on June 1. In the memorandum, the National Negotiating Committee repeats Ken Hall’s cover story: that the only issue holding up the...
Central States Pension Fund: $18.2 billion
April 15, 2014: The Central States Pension third quarter 2013 financial report shows that assets increased to $18.2 billion, due to the run-up of the stock market last year. The fund made 12.2% return on investment for the first nine months of 2013, which explains the growth in assets. The report indicates that the fund has 63,000 active participants and 210,000 retirees. This information is contained in the Financial and Analytical Report and the Independent...
Why Did Louisville Vote No?
April 16, 2014: The Louisville Worldport Air Supplement “final offer” from UPS management was rejected by a whopping 94% last week. That’s Teamster solidarity. Why are the members there so united for a better contract? Thousands of Teamsters at the Worldport are forced to work for free, up to 30 minutes or even an hour a day. They have to wait for a shuttle at the huge airport complex to get to their work station, before...