By Tim Pagel, Local 988, Houston, YRC City Driver When the YRC, Zollars and Hoffa bank heist is finally completed in 2015, I will be out an estimated $57K in wages alone. Then there's the stolen breaks, cheated pension deal, and the lost vacations weeks. I'm looking at a lot more lost than just the 15 percent wage cut made by me and thousands of other Teamsters. I gladly pay my dues and support my...

May 24, 2013: In April Hoffa's Carhaul Director, Roy Gross, blocked from going to arbitration a work preservation grievance which challenged Jack Cooper's new substandard division. Instead the International and the employers routed the grievance—which was researched and filed by Local 89—to the national panel, where they can quietly bury it. Why would our International union want to help Jack Cooper set up an owner-operator division that operates without terminals, assigns drivers in the Midwest...

May 24, 2013: Ken Hall vowed UPSers would not pay for our healthcare. But under the tentative agreement, 140,000 UPSers would be moved into an inferior plan that will force them to pay a lot more for healthcare. Just a few months ago, Teamsters turned out across the country in huge numbers to attend rallies and chant, "No way, we won't pay!" Now healthcare concessions has gone from uniting Teamsters against UPS to uniting many...

May 24, 2013: New contract language would strip local unions of autonomy to enforce contract. Lost in the hubbub about healthcare and harassment, the new contract includes changes that take autonomy away from local unions and consolidate power in the hands of the International Union Package Division. For example: the contract would strip local unions of the right to pull out of company-dominated safety committees without the International's permission (Article 18). Local unions from New...

May 24, 2013: When it comes to technology harassment and dishonesty, the new contract offers more of the same. The company's ability to fire an employee for "dishonesty" solely based on information from technology is largely unchanged in the new contract. The IBT claims UPS must now "confirm information from GPS by direct observation or other corroborating evidence." But the contract makes a clear exception if UPS accuses a Teamster of "dishonesty." The IBT also...

By Steve Kelly, Local 252, Olympia, Wash. Throughout negotiations, we heard big talk about harassment. I was honestly shocked at the skimpy results. As a shop steward, the new language does nothing for me. We've been able to make the company pay 9.5 grievances. The biggest problem with the 9.5 language is getting loads adjusted. We were looking for new language that would make UPS adjust our loads and address understaffing. What we got is...

May 24, 2013: UPS doesn't like TDU's End Part-Time Poverty at UPS T-shirts. But management is happy to have a five-year extension on part-time poverty in the contract. More than 100,000 part-timers will be hit with healthcare cuts and higher out-of-pocket expenses. Starting pay goes up by $1.50 to $10. But check the fine print. The new contract eliminates the $1 increase at 90 days. After 90 days, a part-timer will make just $10 ($11...

Teamsters Take on UPS in LouisvilleUPS Teamsters in Louisville look to be on a collision course with the company over the mammoth Local 89 Air Rider which covers 9,300 UPS Teamsters at UPS Worldport, the company’s central air hub in the country, as well as other UPS buildings. Local 89 stewards and the Executive Board have unanimously opposed the national contract. As we go to press, the local reports that talks on the Air Rider...

May 24, 2013: UPS Teamsters in New York win pension increases, more full-time jobs, and grievance procedure reform. New York Local 804 members entered UPS contract negotiations with high expectations and steep challenges. Their pensions had been frozen for more than a decade. Management has been eroding full-time 22.3 jobs and taking advantage of a broken grievance procedure. Local 804 members have the advantage of having their own supplement which covers 6,000 UPS Teamsters in...

May 24, 2013: Contract negotiations started on a high note. UPS was making record profits. When the company demanded healthcare concessions, it was standing room only at Teamster rallies. Members were ready to fight for their healthcare. But our International Union wasn't. Angry members who feel blindsided on healthcare are organizing a Vote No movement in many areas. They are passing out leaflets, talking in break rooms, wearing Vote No T-shirts, and have a "Vote...