July 31, 2014: James Hoffa yesterday imposed an “emergency” trusteeship over Local 710, and appointed Chicago Teamster boss John Coli as trustee. The trusteeship follows a July 17 report by the Independent Review Board on the lack of financial controls in the local union. Many members of Local 710 are eager to clean house in the next election, and want to know how this trusteeship will affect those efforts. A trusteeship is “presumed invalid” after...

July 30, 2014: The Hoffa administration is escalating its attack on Teamster voting rights. Hoffa administration lawyers are filing new papers with Judge Loretta Preska in a bid to end fair, independently supervised elections in the Teamsters. The case could be decided as early as September. Judge Preska can’t just hear from Hoffa. She needs to hear from us. More than 3,000 Teamsters have signed an Open Letter to Judge Preska, including 1,744 who have signed...

July 29, 2014: UPS made $454 million in after-tax profits and transferred liability for future retiree healthcare costs to Teamcare. UPS announced $454 million in profits for the 2nd quarter today. That’s down from $1.07 billion for the same period last year. But don’t cry for Big Brown just yet. The company’s 54% drop in profits is explained by a one-time charge.  UPS posted a one-time $665 million after-tax charge on its books related to...

UPDATE, August 6, 2014: Local 584 is being forcibly merged into another New York Teamster local to prevent members from voting in new leadership this fall. Support Local 584 members who are demanding their constitutional right to vote on the merger. Click here to demand that President Hoffa respect members’ Right to Vote on any local union merger.  Local 584 members have been gearing up to defeat their incompetent union officials in a local union...

July 24, 2014: Hoffa claims there’s no need for an anti-corruption body in our union because corruption is a thing of the past. Meanwhile, two Hoffa campaign donors have been busted this week on charges of stealing members’ dues and taking employer payoffs. The Hoffa administration has retained two attorneys who formerly worked for President George W. Bush to try to end the members Right to Vote, and also the Independent Review Board (IRB).  The...

July 24, 2014: The Independent Review Board (IRB) has brought embezzlement charges against Harvey Jackson, the president of Local 1150, which represents Sikorsky Aircraft Teamsters at plants in Connecticut, Alabama, and Florida. The charges and investigative report are available here. Jackson is charged with using the union credit card to buy at least $13,000 worth of electronics for his personal use, including: expensive projectors, speakers, cameras, cell phones, DVD player, Blu-ray player, a laptop, Bose...

July 24, 2014: The Independent Review Board (IRB) has brought serious charges against Timothy Ryan, a former construction industry union rep for employer payoffs, diverting jobs to his friends, and conducting a bogus contract vote.   Fortunately, Ryan is no longer a union rep, as his activities were exposed within the union.   The IRB charges and report are available here. Ryan served as the construction industry BA starting in 2009, until he was fired in...

July 24, 2014: A series of events – a march, rally, concert, and picnic – were held July 19-20 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the historic 1934 Minneapolis Teamster strike. Hundreds of people turned out to honor this historic labor victory. Picnic goers heard speakers who talked about current labor struggles and organizing drives. The program was chaired by TDU activist and Local 120 retiree Bob McNattin as well as SEIU member Linda Leighton –...

July 3, 2014: Chicago Local 710 secretary treasurer Pat Flynn has been charged by the Independent Review Board (IRB) with embezzling $58,000 in visa gift cards, violating his fiduciary duty, and exposing the local to legal liability in a cover-up. Flynn was paid $482,543 by Local 710 members’ dues in 2013, plus an additional $44,900 in deferred income, making him the highest paid of all Teamster’ fat cats. The 105-page investigative report and recommended charges...

UPDATED June 26, 2014: YRC Freight has submitted a proposed change of operations to the IBT which would re-open distribution centers in Memphis and Houston, and reclassify Seattle as a distribution center. The change will be heard on July 23, and the company wants implementation on August 17. One effect of this change would be to allow the use of purchased transportation in and out of these three terminals. 119 dock, switcher, road, mechanic, and...