IBT Carhaul Concession-Stand Is Open 24/7
December 7, 2009: The IBT Carhaul Division seems to be operating a concession-stand where anything goes. It’s open season for mileage cuts, percentage pay deals, hourly cuts, border agreement waivers, you name it. Most Cassens drivers are working for 11 percent under scale. Several locals have agreed to wage-cuts for certain traffic. The Canada-USA border agreement has been scrapped in Michigan and Buffalo. The worst thing is that it is all being done without a...
Shocking Sexual Harassment Cases Shake Up Joint Council 42
December 7, 2009: Two Teamster officials are under fire for allegedly sexual harassing their staff and other Teamster members. One has already resigned. These shocking cases are a wake-up call that our union officials can’t tolerate sexual harassment. In September, TDU.org broke the news that Jim Santangelo, the head of Joint Council 42, used members’ dues to settle a $500,000 sexual harassment suit filed by an employee at the Joint Council. Last year Santangelo made...
YRC Reddaway Teamsters Reject Contract Offer
December 7, 2009:On Dec. 1, Reddaway Teamsters in Washington and Oregon narrowly rejected a proposed contract which the IBT and YRC agreed to. By a 214-208 vote the Teamsters at YRC’s regional carrier said No, and will retain their contract wages and benefits until a contract is ratified. The union bargaining committee, which includes a number of stewards, has been willing to consider concessions but not everything the company wants. Three months ago Hoffa appointed...
Hoffa Abolishes Chicago Contracts
December 7, 2009: In an unprecedented power grab, Hoffa has claimed the authority to abolish the Chicago-area freight contracts, and imposed the National Master Freight Agreement on 2,000 Teamsters, most of whom work for YRC. The five affected locals—179, 301, 673, 705, and 710—were apparently not even consulted, nor were the members given a vote on abolishing their contracts. The attack came on Nov. 24 via a three paragraph memo. How can this memo overturn...
ABF Concession Negotiations?
December 7, 2009: VP Kemp said they’re happening. Tyson Johnson denied it. Who do we believe? he company and Hoffa’s team have never shown much interest in how working Teamsters make ABF tick. They want to take it out of us in lean times but they never give us bonuses or improvements when their profit margins are fat. Why the big comparison with YRC? We were always told by management that ABF wasn’t interested in...
UPS Freight Teamsters Need More from the IBT
December 26, 2009: UPS Freight drivers and dockworkers had high hopes when they signed on with the Teamsters. Now, a couple years later, they’re looking at what needs to be improved. UPS Freight Teamsters got a national contract, and some grievances have been won. But in key areas like subcontracting and written work rules, grievances have been filed but little progress has been made. The company is having its way, something that UPS is good...
Warning: This Could Affect Your Pension
December 7, 2009: A new pension bill is working its way through Congress which could provide some needed relief to Teamster pension funds, but there are possibilities of changes that could cut some Teamster pensions. The time for Teamsters to get informed is now, because this bill could soon be on a fast-track to become law. It is HR 3936 in the House, sponsored by Earl Pomeroy (D-ND) and Pat Tiberi (R-OH). Hearings on similar...
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Watchdog. Information source. Voice of working Teamsters. TDU is all of those things. But first and foremost we’re a group of Teamster members working together to enforce our contracts and hold our leaders accountable. Put the YOU in the TDU. Join today. Information You Won’t Get Anywhere Else Too many Teamster officials want to keep the members in the dark. I’m able to stay on top of issues in my local and in the grocery...
Enter the Contest: Give Convoy Dispatch A New Name
Thanks to everyone who submitted names for TDU's newspaper. The contest is now closed. Local 89 member Wayne Sharp submitted the winning entry.
BLET Officials Move to Take Away the Right to Vote
December 4, 2009. Just two months after the national president of the BLET was arrested for taking a $20,000 bribe, some officials have proposed taking away members’ right to vote for their top officers. On Dec. 1, Div. 98 President Roy Helm wrote to all local divisions, asking them to approve an initiative that would take away the right to vote for the top officers of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) in...