Members Will Determine Future of Local 710
The membership of Local 710, based in the Chicago area but also covering parts of Illinois, Indiana and the UPS hub in Davenport, Iowa, find themselves with more questions than answers following the imposition of a trusteeship on their local. Stewards and concerned members have begun to meet and discuss plans for moving forward with a membership led direction for Local 710. The trusteeship removed Pat Flynn and other officers based on charges stemming from a credit card scheme and financial mismanagement. John Coli, a Hoffa...
Teamsters Raise the Stakes with Solidarity—and Win
September 24, 2014: Teamsters at the Twin River Casino took a gamble that solidarity could beat corporate greed at Twin River Casino. Now they’ve beaten the house. The money never stops flowing at Twin River Casino, the largest gambling and entertainment venue in Rhode Island. But the winnings always stopped when it came to Local 251 members who work as parking valets at the Casino. Until now. With their old local union leadership cozy with management, the odds were stacked against them. Teamster parking valets took...
Round One: Victory at BNSF Rail Workers Fight for Jobs, Safety
September 24, 2014: Rank and file rail workers—including Teamsters in the BLET—have won an important round in the fight to maintain two-person crews in America’s rail cabs. In mid-September, conductors on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) soundly rejected a contract that would have allowed one-person crews. "Rail workers told the BNSF railway, their union leaders and fellow rail workers that they will not support single-person crews,” said Ron Kaminkow, an engineer for Amtrak and member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLET) affiliated with...
Marching for a Healthy Planet and Good jobs
TDU members and other Teamsters joined hundreds of thousands in a massive march against Climate Change in New York City. A labor contingent of union members led the march under the slogan, “A Healthy Planet and good jobs.” The media reported a turnout of 310,000. March organizers say it was actually over 400,000. Either way, it was quite a crowd. For too long, it’s been jobs vs. the environment. But on Sunday, we were all...
Making the Case for the Right to Vote
September 18, 2014: Petitions signed by more than 12,000 Teamsters are on the way to Judge Loretta Preska calling on her to rule against the Hoffa administration’s bid to end fair elections for International Union officers. TDU legal counsel, Barbara Harvey, has submitted a letter to the court defending the Right to Vote and asking the Judge to hold a hearing on the issues. Judge Preska oversees the consent order, a court-approved agreement that guarantees...
Laredo Con-way Workers Join Local 657
September 13, 2014: Yesterday the Laredo Texas Con-way terminal workers voted to join Teamsters Local 657, in a first-ever organizing win at the giant LTL carrier. Los Angeles Joint Council 42 just filed with the NLRB for organizing votes at three Con-way terminals in Los Angeles, Santa Fe Springs and San Fernando. Is this the start of movement to organize in freight and trucking? We hope so! It’s certainly a good first step, and should...
Teamsters Mobilize to Fight Climate Change
September 12, 2014: The labor movement is joining up with the biggest mobilization against climate change in history. World leaders will converge on New York City later this month for a United Nations climate summit. Unions are converging on New York City too. The Teamsters are joining forces with unions, environmental groups, students, and over 1,000 social and economic justice organizations for the biggest climate change march in history on Sunday, Sept. 21. The purpose of the march is...
Rail Workers say “No” to Single-person Crews
September 11, 2014: Rail workers have shouted a loud “No” to single-person train crews. The contract rejection was delivered by conductors who work for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), who are members of SMART (Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers union). “Rail workers told the BNSF railway, their union leaders and fellow rail workers that they will not support single-person crews,” said Ron Kaminkow, an engineer for Amtrak and member of the Brotherhood...
Make Workers’ Rights into Civil Rights
September 11, 2014: It’s time to make a worker’s right to speak out for unions, without employer retaliation, a civil right. Two members of Congress have introduced the Employee Empowerment Act, to give the right to organize protections found in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. You can learn more and sign a petition of support. The bill has little chance of passing at present, but is an important part of building a movement...
Fast Food Strikes Hit 150 Cities
September 4, 2014: Fast Food workers walked off the job in 150 cities September 4 to win a living wage of $15 an hour and the right to be union members. TDU stands with them! The walkouts are the latest in a series of coordinated strikes that began in November 2012. Today marks the first time that the actions include nonviolent civil disobedience. Police arrested at least 19 people outside of a McDonald’s in New...