Republic Flight Attendants Get Contract in Shady Vote
August 22, 2013: Teamsters at UPS, UPS Freight and ABF have questioned their contract voting procedures, but consider the crap which 2,000 Teamster flight attendants have been fed. Their contract was deemed "ratified" on July 31 by a vote of 646-440 under these conditions: The ballots were to be returned in a single envelope, and no name or ID was required on it. Anyone with an envelope and ballot could mail in one, two or...
Members Reject National Gate Gourmet Contract
August 14, 2013: After 8 months without a contract, Teamsters and UNITE HERE members at Gate Gourmet rejected a tentative agreement by the lopsided margin of 2,179 No to 742 Yes, in yet another national Hoffa-administration contract which the members think is a stinker. The number one issue is wages. Yet IBT Local 528 in Atlanta, which represents a large number of Teamsters, says they will not pursue wage increases beyond what's been proposed but...
A Teamster Troublemaker for Fairness
September 6, 2013: A Local 802 Teamster celebrates her 15th year as a groundbreaking Teamster and "troublemaker" for fairness. The first Teamster woman at her grocery warehouse, Arlena Dean filed a grievance to force her employer to create a locker room for women employees only to be told that she was forbidden to use it. Management at her Bronx-based grocery warehouse banned Arlena, who considers herself a "proud African-American lesbian Teamster," from using the women's...
TDU is Growing—Want to be Part of Making it Happen?
August 23, 2013: TDU is growing, and it's no secret why. The Hoffa-Hall IBT leadership has failed, and Teamsters who want to do something about it realize that as isolated individuals, we are powerless to change the union. The only way to make it happen is if we're organized: that's what Teamsters for a Democratic Union is all about. The biggest face plant by Hoffa and Hall has been negotiating the national contracts this year:...
Education for Union Power
TDU CONVENTIONNovember 1 - 3, Chicago Get the education and information we need to defend our rights, organize to win stronger contracts and rebuild Teamster Power. NEW WORKSHOPS include: Secrets of a Successful Organizer: Learn the best tools for getting members involved, identifying issues and building power on the job. Stonewalling in the Grievance Procedure—And How to Beat It: Tactics for resolving your grievance when your boss—or BA—is trying to put you off. Defending Healthcare:...
UPS Retro Pay Calculator
August 9, 2013: Today is pay day—Do you know how much retro pay you are owed? From now until management pays you your retroactive pay, you would be wise to keep track of your hours and pay owed. It will be $.70 for each straight-time hour worked or owed due to vacation or holiday (Labor Day is coming up), and $1.05 for each overtime hour. Click here to download a handy calculator (in Microsoft Excel)...
ABF Teamsters Say No Deal
August 6, 2013: The ballots are out in the mail, but active Teamsters in the Central Region and some other supplemental areas are saying Vote No. A leaflet distributed by a number of Teamsters says that "a unified rejection of the supplements will better position us to recover our lost vacation week, and possibly all or some of our lost wages." Bret Subsits, a Chicago Local 710 driver, has this message for fellow ABF Teamsters:...
Video: UPS Strike Anniversary
August 4, 2013: In the 1990s Teamsters stood up to UPS, and won. August 4 makes the anniversary of the start of the victorious UPS strike — a lesson in rank and file power. On August 4, 1997, UPS Teamsters hit the streets at UPS. The '97 strike at UPS won the labor movement's biggest victory in decades. UPS hasn't changed much since 1997, but our Teamsters Union has. In 1997, UPS was making big...
ABF Ballots Go Out Aug 6
UPDATED August 1, 2013: The ballots in the second-round vote on the ABF contract go out on August 6, and will be counted on August 28. Teamsters covered by the seven rejected supplements continue to be kept in the dark about what the IBT has done to improve the offer. We do know that in the Central road and cartage supplements, they made the most minor change imaginable: allowing Teamsters to split the days in...
Moving the Working Women's Agenda Forward: CLUW Convention
The 17th Biennial Coalition of Labor Union Women Convention is taking place November 13-16 in Reno, Nevada. From their website... The women's movement and the labor movement are facing some of the biggest challenges in our history, with battles on every front. This is our opportunity to engage those in the labor movement and our friends who are not part of the labor movement and to learn how we can Move the Working Women's Agenda...