Teamster and employer negotiators met today to exchange initial proposals, with bargaining set to begin on June 10. The union’s proposals are available here. The contract expires on August 31. The union’s initial proposals cover a number of important working conditions and competitive rates issues (Article 22), but not proposals on wages, pension, health benefits and other monetary issues. Those will be addressed later in bargaining. Bargaining has barely started but Hoffa is already putting politics...

Candidates for International Union office will be officially nominated at the Teamster Convention next year. Now you can find out how many Convention Delegates will be elected in your Local Union. Every Local Union will hold an election for delegates to the Teamster Convention where International Union candidates will be officially nominated. The Election Supervisor has just announced how many delegates each local union will elect. You can now find out how many delegates your local...

What do you do when you give a corporation the deal they want, but the pension fund vetoes it as illegal? That’s the IBT’s question regarding their deal with Kroger Co.

May 20, 2015: Tens of thousands of workers and supporters in 120 cities rallied, protested, and went on strike on April 15, including Wal-Mart employees, fast-food workers, homecare workers, and others.  Teamster members are joining the growing movement to raise the minimum wage and win union rights for all workers.   Kansas City “In recent years, we’ve organized a coalition of unions, Jobs With Justice, community and faith groups, that’s fighting for economic justice and taking on corporate tax-cheaters,” said Michael Savwoir,...

Interview with Kirk Sikora Local 327 Steward Cassens How did you become a Teamster Carhauler? In the early 90’s, I was working as a heavy wrecker operator that had contracts doing recovery work for carhaul companies like M&G Convoy. I was helping a carhauler swap tractors and we shared how much we made. When he told me what he was paid, I said “a month?” “No,” he says, “a week.”   I applied at Leaseway and showed up with pizza and donuts more than once. I wanted the job...

Sign the Petition to demand an independent audit of the Central States Fund. Teamsters deserve an independent audit and review of alternative plans before the Central States cuts are imposed. Support upcoming Congressional legislation that offers alternatives for strengthening pension funds that go beyond slashing the pensions we earned. Build the Movement to Vote No & Reject the Pension Cuts. Help mobilize Teamsters and retirees to Vote No to reject the cuts in the Central States balloting this fall....

May 20, 2015: Over 300 carhaulers joined a conference call on May 14 to form a national network of stewards, officers, and active members to defend their contract and change the national leadership of the union. Now the organizing work will begin. Paul Kubal, Jack Cooper driver at Wayne Michigan in Local 299, said “We need to get organized if we’re going make sure negotiations deliver what we need. We need a carhaul contract committee with stewards and active members. We need a rep in every barn.”   The national network...

May 20, 2015:  Hoffa has won re-election three times.  Here’s why Hoffa will be beat in 2016. Hoffa has won re-election three times, including  the 2011 election with 60 percent of the vote.  But the key indicators point to a different  outcome this time. Here’s why Hoffa will be  beat in 2016. From Division to Unity   In the last IBT election, two opposition candidates  ran against Hoffa, splitting the vote.   This time, opposition...

May 20, 2015: What to Do When UPS Management Puts a Target on Your Back. Harassment isn’t an accident at UPS. It’s a strategy, called management-by-stress.   Under management-by-stress, the company uses harassment to try to intimidate us into working faster. Sometimes, they’re trying to provoke you into losing your temper. In extreme cases, they’ll try to harass workers into quitting.   TDU asked experienced package car stewards for suggestions on how Teamsters can protect themselves from harassment at UPS. Here were their Top 10 tips.  ...