Milwaukee Teamster Retiree Speaks Out on Pension Cuts
March 13, 2015: Bob Amsden, a retired Local 200 Teamster, isn’t sitting by while Central States ponders pension cuts. He got involved in forming the Wisconsin Committee to Protect Pensions and helped to organize a recent Milwaukee meeting that attracted over 60 retirees, spouses, and active Teamsters. Amsden recently spoke with a reporter from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The story ended up being a front page article. Many active and retired Teamsters don’t know of...
Louisville Local 89 Picket Stops Subcontracting
March 12, 2015: When Teamster Local 89 investigated and found out that Holland was bringing in low-paid contractors to do city delivery work, they took creative action – and in less than one hour, YRCW management decided the contractors would leave empty. The IBT Freight Division may want to pay attention. Holland was violating the contract, and grievances could have been filed, but quick creative action worked better. Local 89, led by president Fred Zuckerman,...
IRB Charges former Local 439 Officers
UPDATE: Congratulations to Local 439 on the solid organizing win at FedEx Freight yesterday, by a vote of 33-12. Welcome new FedEx Teamsters! March 12, 2015: The Independent Review Board (IRB) has charged the former leaders of Stockton California Local 439 with a pattern of embezzlement, fraud and receiving a motorcycle from an employer. Former Secretary Treasurer Sam Rosas and former president Armando Alonzo were charged. The IRB’s 117-page report, issued February 27, is available here....
How Certain Teamster Pensions Funds May Try to Cut Pensions
March 3, 2015: The Central States Pension Fund and several smaller funds in the months to come may seek to cut the earned benefits of retirees and active Teamsters. Teamster members have a right to know what the procedures would be, so that we can be better armed to fight back. A detailed outline of the procedure and timeline is available here for review by concerned members and retirees. This outline explains that the process...
Teamsters United Organizing Meetings - NYC and New England, March 14 & 15
Teamster members across the country are organizing for new leadership and a new direction in our International Union. In the last International Union election, the opposition forces were divided. This time Local 804 President Tim Sylvester, Local 89 President Fred Zuckerman and other Teamster leaders are building a coalition effort that is uniting Teamsters, including former Hoffa supporters, in one movement for a stronger union. Get involved with Teamster officers and members who are building...
Wisconsin Workers Protest 'Right-to-Work' Threat
February 25, 2015: "The weather was cold yesterday but the crowd came together for the first rally of the growing protest against the latest attack on workers and the Middle class in Wisconsin," says Local 200 retiree and TDU Steering Committee member Dan Campbell. Click here to read more on the new threat of 'right-to-work' legislation in Wisconsin.
Ohio Teamsters want New Leadership
February 23, 2015: Teamsters in Ohio are joining the movement for change in the International union. Ben Sizemore, A YRC driver in Local 407 told the Cleveland meeting yesterday “We’re goin’ to smoke ‘em in the election next year.” Teamsters from Columbus Local 413 braved nasty weather this past Saturday to hear Tim Sylvester, Fred Zuckerman, and their own local President Tony Jones, lay out their ideas and plans for taking back the IBT for...
Walmart Workers Get a Raise. Hear that UPS?
February 23, 2015: Starting wages for Walmart workers will soon match starting pay for part-timers at UPS. What’s wrong with this picture? Walmart announced it is raising its minimum wage to $9 an hour and that starting pay will be hiked to $10 an hour in February 2016. That means wages at Walmart, the nation’s biggest exploiter of low-wage labor, will match starting pay at UPS under our union’s biggest contract. That’s just embarrassing. Even...
Ohio Teamsters Gear Up for 2016 Election
February 5, 2015: Teamsters in Southern California held a packed meeting to build a campaign to elect new International Union leaders. Next up: Columbus and Cleveland, Ohio on Feb. 21-22. Teamsters in the Midwest have been hammered with contract concessions and the threat of pension cuts. Now members are coming together to organize for new leadership and a new direction for our union. Members are holding meetings to gear up for the International Union election...
What Pension Funds May Face Cuts Under New Law?
February 4, 2015: Could your benefits be cut under the new Pension Cut legislation? Find out here. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has compiled a list of 100 plans that may be permitted to cut benefits as a result of the new pension law enacted in December 2014. The Central States Pension Fund is not the only Teamster pension plan where retirees may be threatened with benefit cuts because of the new pension...