UPDATE, May 6, 2013: The information brownout will be lifted and the tentative agreement with UPS will finally see the light of day on Tuesday, May 7. There will be a meeting for representatives from every local union to review the proposed tentative agreement on Tuesday, May 7. Due to past legal victories, TDU will receive the tentative UPS contract and make it available to all members. TDU has obtained more initial details on the...

April 25, 2013: The International Union announced it has reached a tentative agreement on new five-year contracts at UPS and UPS Freight. Negotiations on some supplements are still not completed. Details on the new agreements are still sketchy due to the ongoing Information Brownout. All UPS Teamsters in company health plans will be moved into union health plans. The contract includes $1/hour increases in contributions to pension and healthcare benefits each year, the same dollar...

April 25, 2013: On the same day that UPS reached tentative agreement on a new contract, the company announced its profits are on the rise. UPS’s after-tax profits for the first quarter rose to $1.04 billion. This is up from $970 million made during the same period last year. For the year, UPS is projecting to haul in $4.6 to $4.8 billion in after-tax profits.  UPS made this announcement in a conference call with investors...

April 24, 2013: The IBT approved the YRC system-wide change of operations with some slight modifications following the hearing in Dallas on April 19. See the attached proposal and final decision. The company’s method of bidding incorporates both follow the work and pool bidding. Some locals proposed changes in the bidding, but they were shot down. The telephone bid will be conducted on May 11, 2013 with implementation no sooner than May 19. The company...

April 22, 2013: More than 100,000 Teamsters will be moved out of their current health plan if UPS management gets its way in contract negotiations. Now some locals are demanding a separate vote on the issue. UPS wants to move more UPS Teamsters out of company health plans. The company and Ken Hall were all but set on moving these Teamsters into the Central States Health & Welfare Fund. But members and some local unions...

Updated April 22, 2013: The IBT and ABF have agreed to extend bargaining another 30 days, as ABF continues to demand big cuts in health care, pensions and wages.  The extension now runs until the end of May. According to an IBT Bulletin issued late yesterday, ABF is demanding that Teamsters pay $240 per month for family health coverage, with reduced benefits; big cuts in pension contributions, which would have the effect of removing ABF...

Join TDUers in Providence, other Teamster members, stewards and officers, as well as labor educators and experts, for a day of training and education. Workshops include: Legal Rights of Union Members Using Grievances to Protect Members from Unfair Discipline Winning a Better Contract at Rhode Island Hospital Uniting Labor and the Community for Workers' Rights Guest Speakers: Sandy Pope, President Teamsters Local 805; Ken Paff, National Organizer of TDU; and Julian Gonzalez, Labor Attorney. Southern...

April 19, 2013: UPS Teamsters and many local unions are raising red flags about members being moved into the Central States Health Fund. The proposal has sparked resistance from members and locals opposed to benefit reductions. Officers from every local in the West held a conference call on Wednesday and spoke out against any transfer to the Central States Health & Welfare Fund. Teamsters Local 177 which represents some 6,000 UPSers in New Jersey also...

UPDATED April 18, 2013: Republic Waste Teamsters walked out yesterday in Cleveland, joining striking Teamsters in Youngstown Ohio. Also, Republic Teamsters in Memphis Local 984 walked out, in an unfair labor practice strike. Some 600 are now out on strike in Northeast Ohio. The International union has extended picket lines on a rolling basis to some other areas, to put more pressure on the giant corporation. On April 18, Republic Teamsters in Seattle area are...

UPDATED April 18, 2013: YRCW and the union for 200 mechanics at 15 Holland and YRC terminals have reached a tentative agreement, and the threat of a lock-out is over, at least for now. Members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) will be voting on the contract. The Hoffa administration has taken the company's side, noting that the union mechanics are not going along with the "equality of sacrifice" envisioned in the Teamster memorandum...