April 16, 2013: Three thousand Teamsters, active and retired, headed to the union hall in Kansas City. What sparked the monster turnout and what does it say about Teamsters and our pensions? Over 250 people showed up at the Local 41 union meeting last Saturday. Another 3000 retirees showed up for a meeting that afternoon. What sparked this monster Teamster turnout? A report from Central States Pension Fund representatives, after TDU broke the news that...

UPDATED April 16, 2013 2:00 p.m. EDT: YRC has given another extension on its deadline to lock-out 200 union mechanics at 15 terminals. Bargaining is scheduled to continue today. Meanwhile, the Hoffa administration has taken the company’s side, but some Teamster members are choosing solidarity instead of sorry-assity. This Teamster rank and file solidarity may be what is bringing management back to the table. The mechanics, who are members of the International Association of Mechanics...

UPDATED April 19, 2013: The International Union will resume contract negotiations with UPS on April 22 with the goal of reaching a deal on a proposed new contract by the end of the week. Economic issues, including healthcare, remain on the table. The IBT and UPS have reached tentative agreements on a number of language issues, including 9.5 protections from excessive overtime. Members have been promised that the new 9.5 language will: Make it easier...

April 12, 2013: The press is reporting that Mayor Michael Bloomberg lied about the key issue behind the recent school bus strike in New York City. The strike was provoked when the Department of Education eliminated key job security protections from school bus transportation contracts. The "Employee Protection Provisions" protect the wages, benefits and job security of more than 10,000 union school bus drivers in the City including over a thousand Teamsters. The Mayor repeatedly...

UPDATED April 12, 2013: Are UPS Teamsters presently in company plans heading for the Central States Health and Welfare Fund? That’s one proposal that UPS management has put on the table. The International Union called a two-week break in negotiations to study this issue. So far, UPS Teamsters have only been told that management has proposed moving all UPS Teamsters into a union health and welfare plan. Meanwhile, the Central States Health and Welfare Fund seems to...

April 10, 2013: A hearing was held in federal court in St. Louis today in the case ABF filed against the IBT and YRC, in an effort to win concessions that the company could not get passed by the rank and file. If you care to listen to the brief hearing and attorneys’ arguments click here. Then click on Court Session, then select April 2013 and click on case number 12-3090. Labor attorneys consulted by...

April 9, 2013: "We're just like human machines," TDU member Phil Richards told the Los Angeles Times. "But with machines, they don't care whether you feel good, or if you're having a bad day." High unemployment rates from the economic recession are excuses for employers to undervalue and exploit their workforces, because there are thousands of people waiting for a job. Technology is being used by management to monitor the workforce 24/7 looking for any...

April 3, 2013: Rhode Island Local 251 signs a substandard deal covering carhaulers in Kansas City, undercutting the national contract in the process. It reads like an April Fools story, but unfortunately it’s real, and Hoffa’s Carhaul Director signed off on it. Jack Cooper Transport’s goal is to have a mobile force of underpaid owner-operators who fill in all over the Midwest and the country, as needs arise to haul cars from plants and rail...

April 2, 2013: Financial reports for the year 2012 are now available for most Teamster locals, joint councils, conferences and the International union.  Federal law requires these reports to be filed by March 31, and most Teamster locals have complied. A guide on how to download and print a report is available here. Or you can call TDU at (313) 842-2600. The International union 323-page financial report is available here. Right away you will see...

March 28, 2013: ABF and the International Union have agreed to extend the contract until the end of April. The old contract terms will remain in effect. Bargaining continues with the company in the driver’s seat, focusing on concessions being demanded by management on operations, unbalanced freight lanes, and more.  Supplemental bargaining has proceeded also. Bargaining on economics (wages, pensions, health and welfare) has apparently not taken center stage yet. In a conference call with...