September 18, 2009. The Central Pennsylvania Teamster Health and Welfare Fund just announced benefit cuts that apply to YRC, Holland and New Penn Teamsters, due to the lower employer payments in the YRCW concession agreement. The Fund created a new “Y” (for YRCW) benefit class, with lower dental benefits, higher prescription co-pays, lower life insurance, and disability benefits cut from $275 per week to $100. The Fund’s explanation of the cuts is available here. Will...

September 17, 2009: YRCW VP Jack Peak has openly threatened to move work out of terminals where Teamsters under white paper agreements voted to reject concessions. Even worse, Teamster Freight Director Tyson Johnson has ratified the threat by passing it along to all local unions and affected members, asking if they need “further clarification.” Teamsters expect more from the International Union than “clarification” of corporate threats to play one group of Teamsters against another. They...

September 17, 2009: A sexual harassment scandal involving an International Vice President has cost our union a half million dollars. So why is Jim Santangelo still an International Vice President and head of the 100,000-member Joint Council 42 and Local 848 in Los Angeles? That’s the question some Southern California Teamsters are asking. In August, a sexual harassment lawsuit against Santangelo was settled for $500,000. The lawsuit was filed in January 2009, so the large...

September 16, 2009: Teamsters Canada, an affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, has launched a full-scale campaign to organize Federal Express Canada Ltd. workers, Teamsters Canada President Robert Bouvier said Sept. 14. Bouvier said the campaign was launched in response to numerous calls from FedEx workers seeking similar wages and working conditions as the employees of unionized courier companies. The Teamsters' 125,000 members in Canada already include 14,000 workers in the courier industry, who...

September 16, 2009: The 1,400 U.S. mechanics who maintain United Parcel Service Inc's (UPS.N) worldwide fleet of 263 aircraft have authorized a strike, union officials said on Tuesday, but contract talks will continue later this month. The vote represents a ratcheting up of the pressure in negotiations between the two sides just as UPS, the world's largest shipping company, enters its busiest season. Click here to read more at Reuters.

September 15, 2009: The trustees of the New York State Teamsters Conference Pension and Retirement Fund filed a lawsuit Sept. 10 against Ivy Asset Management Corp., alleging Ivy breached its fiduciary duties by investing in a hedge fund that was “heavily involved” in the “reckless manipulation” of natural gas futures (Bulgaro v. Ivy Asset Management Corp., N.D.N.Y., No. 5:09-cv-1027, lawsuit filed 9/10/09). The trustees allege that the Teamsters fund lost every penny of its nearly...

September 11, 2009: The highest-paid Teamster officials hiked their pay by more than a million dollars last year. They’ve got a million reasons to back Hoffa. How about you? • Read the full report. • Download the full salary report. • See how working Teamsters stack up. In this special $150,000 Club issue, TDU publishes our annual report on compensation for the top Teamster officials. You’ll find the full report inside. Here’s the punchline in...

September 11, 2009: I think what is going on in the carhaul sector is typical Hoffa tactics.We shot down the first carhaul contract, and made them remove many of the unfair and unrealistic concessions. They run a second contract at us, that was better than the first, but still in need of improvement. That one got voted in, so now here we are months later, and they are going local to local to sell out...

September 11, 2009: Freight Teamsters are being hit hard, but thousands of members are ready to work together to Dump Hoffa and turn our union around. A popular sentiment at the YRC terminal in Cleveland.Most of the 35,000 Teamsters at YRC are now working for 15 percent below the national contract, and getting no pension credits. It’s discouraging to be hit hard by your employer and find your International Union leadership helping the employer beat...

Cuts at ABF? “Now we’re dragged into this whole YRC mess. ABF is talking about needing lower wages and benefits in order to compete. We just got notice from the Michigan Teamster health fund that they’re changing our insurance because of reduced contributions from freight companies.” Paul Boven, ABF Local 406, Grand Rapids, Mich. Who Does Hoffa Work For? “Hoffa’s trying to muscle Local 710 to get a revote to help YRC. Is he working...