February 9, 2009: A Lawrence Township, N.J., ordinance that was applied to prohibit a union from displaying a 10-foot tall balloon in the shape of a rat as part of a labor protest on a public sidewalk outside a construction site violates the First Amendment right to free speech and is overbroad, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled unanimously Feb. 5 ( State v. DeAngelo, N.J., No. A-73-07, 2/5/09). Overturning the conviction of Wayne DeAngelo,...

February 6, 2009: In a conference call on February 2 with stock analysts and investors, YRCW CEO Bill Zollars stated that more terminals will be closed following the merger now in progress. "I think that the 450 [terminals] is probably not the end game,” Zollars stated. “We have plans on the books to take that down as we continue to optimize the network… It’s a big opportunity to improve efficiency but we’re not going to...

Concerned Teamsters are hitting the road with the latest issue of Convoy Dispatch and getting the word out about how we can turn our union around. “We got an overwhelmingly positive response. Members want the information you can get in Convoy.” David Manolis, Local 391 Tens of thousands of Teamsters already read Convoy, TDU’s national newspaper, thanks to Teamster members who get bundles of the newspaper and distribute it where they work and beyond. “Earlier...

March 2, 2009: The good news is that the starting wage for UPS part-timers in Washington State has gone up. The bad news is that the raise is only a nickel—and it took a hike in the state minimum wage to make it happen. That’s right. The minimum wage in Washington State is now higher than the starting wage in the biggest Teamster contract. As of Jan. 1, the minimum wage in Washington is $8.55....

February 4, 2009: Robert Walston, former president of Local 743, has been charged with conspiracy and drug dealing in connection with the purchase and distribution of 80 kilograms of cocaine. Walston was indicted on Jan. 22. The alleged crimes happened in 2007, when Walston was president of the big Chicago local, so drug running would have been a moonlighting job along with his union work. On June 16, 2007, federal agents seized $135,000 in cash...

February 2, 2009: Thousands of YRC Teamsters will soon be bidding on new jobs, with some 5000 moving to new terminals. According to a January 30 memorandum from Teamster freight director Tyson Johnson, local bidding and transfer-of-work bidding will be completed prior to February 15, and the national pool bidding will take place on February 16 (and 17 if necessary). Click here to see a copy of the bidding procedure memorandum.

January 30, 2009: The hearing on management’s proposed merger of Yellow and Roadway operation concluded on Thursday, as did the hearing on the “Velocity” change dealing with utility employees. A decision is expected soon—perhaps in a week. That decision, on the job transfer and seniority details of the largest trucking merger in history, will be extensive. Most of the job transfers are going to be by the follow-the-work principle, with many Teamsters transferring to nearby...

January 30, 2009: Chicago Local 705 UPS retirees are mad as hell, and they’re doing something about it. They’re mad because UPS management suddenly raised their monthly health and welfare contribution from $50 to $157.58 for a single retiree and $315.17 for a retiree and spouse. Today Local 705 and two retirees filed a class action suit in federal court against UPS, and reportedly they are considering other actions as well. (A copy of the...

January 30, 2009: Four years ago, U.S. unions split into two federations. Now they’re talking about getting back together. On Jan. 7, twelve presidents from the two rival union federations—the AFL-CIO and Change to Win—and the National Education Association met to discuss forming one united federation. Teamster General President Jim Hoffa participated in the meeting. In 2005, Hoffa took the Teamsters Union into Change to Win when the new federation split from the AFL-CIO. The...

January 30, 2009: James Santangelo came to the Local 896 meeting trying to sell a merger with his own local, but his sales pitch fell flat. Local 896 represents 3,000 brewery and soft drink Teamsters in southern California. Jim Santangelo is trying to swallow the local into his own Local 848. Santangelo is also the head of Joint Council 42 and a Teamster International VP. But Local 896 members weren’t intimidated. They showed up in...