Teamsters in Puerto Rico Unite for Change
September 11, 2009: Members are uniting for change in Puerto Rico, as a series of scandals have rocked their local union. TDU members and other reformers march with a banner supporting the Teamsters Making the Difference Slate.As Convoy-Dispatch goes to press, Local 901 principal officer Germán Vázquez may have already cut a deal to resign from the union after he was caught embezzling more than $55,000 in union funds. According to an investigation by the...
Vermont Bus Drivers Gear Up Early for Contract Talks
September 11, 2009: Across the country, bus drivers are organizing with the Teamsters Union to secure a better future and a voice on the job. Those same goals are driving bus workers in Vermont Local 597 to gear up early for their contract negotiations next spring. Nearly 75 Teamsters drive and maintain buses for the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) in and around Burlington, Vermont. Members have formed a rank-and-file Committee for a Good Contract....
UPS Applies Production Squeeze
September 11, 2009: In a tough economy, management is squeezing UPS Teamsters more than ever. We’ve got contract language to protect us. So why isn’t it being enforced? In a tough economy, management is pushing UPS Teamsters harder than ever. “Our District Manager told us straight out at a PCM that volume is down so we’re going to have to squeeze more out of you,” said Ken Reiman, a Local 804 member in Long Island,...
How Do Working Teamsters Stack Up?
Last year, some of the biggest pay hikes went to the very officials who have overseen the worst concessions and benefit cuts in Teamster history. James HoffaIn his ten years in office, General President James Hoffa has nearly doubled his compensation. Last year he made $383,132. Butch LewisLocal 100 freight Teamster Butch Lewis took a 15 percent pay cut—and his pension was frozen for 18 months. Bill HamiltonLast year Local 107 President Bill Hamilton got...
Dimes on the Dollar For 9.5 Violations
September 11, 2009: UPS Teamsters are increasingly getting just dimes on the dollar for 9.5 violations—when they get anything at all. The problem is epidemic and infecting areas where members historically have been able to win full penalty pay. Teamsters in Oklahoma Local 886 have been used to seeing their grievances paid dollar for dollar. But after a year of waiting, the Southern Region panel has ruled on 9.5 grievances filed between June and October...
UPS Mechanics Hold Strike Vote
September 11, 2009: As we go to press, Teamsters Local 2727 is scheduling a strike vote of 1,400 UPS plane mechanics. The company wants Teamster mechanics and retirees to start contributing to their health insurance premiums. Management also wants to reduce coverage. Industry analysts have told the press that our union has real leverage because a strike could affect UPS at its busiest time of the year. Management is dismissive of the strike vote. UPS...
UPS Still Profitable in Tough Economy
September 11, 2009: UPS announced after-tax profits of $445 million for the second quarter of 2009, up from $401 million in the first quarter. In the worst economy in our lifetimes, UPS has turned $846 million in after-tax profits in the first six months of the year. By comparison, FedEx lost $779 million from Dec. 1, 2008 to May 31, 2009—the most recent six months for which the company’s earnings info is available. UPS’s volume...
Central States: Ten Years of Decline Under Hoffa
September 11, 2009: This graph shows the decline in participants in the Central States Pension Fund during the 10-year reign of James Hoffa as Teamster president. The number of active participants has fallen from 185,000 in 1999 to 77,000 in 2009, a loss of well over 100,000 participants to the fund. The number of participants dropped sharply in December 2007 when Hoffa let UPS pull 44,000 Teamsters out of the fund. During Hoffa’s tenure, an...
YRC Pension Withdrawal Hurts Funds
September 11, 2009: YRC is saving $40 million per month by not paying into any Teamster pension fund on its 35,000 Teamster employees. This concession is aimed at keeping YRC afloat, and its hard-working drivers, dockhands, mechanics and office workers on the job. But that same saving for YRC means a $500 million annual deficit in payments to Teamster pension funds. Some, like the Western Conference Fund, can absorb the loss because of a good...
Central States: Assets at $17.5 Billion; New Reemployment Rule
September 11, 2009: A review of the second quarter Financial and Analytical Report of the Central States Pension Fund shows that assets are up, but its problems continue. Central States has also slightly amended its ‘reemployment’ rule which will help some over-65 retirees. As of June 30, CSPF assets stood at $17.5 billion, almost exactly the same as the $17.4 billion in assets at the start of 2009. The fund made 15.0 percent on its...