January 23, 2013: The UPS contract covers nearly 250,000 Teamsters and sets the bar for every contract. The IBT is in contract negotiations with UPS, the biggest union employer in North America, and the outcome will affect every Teamster. The stakes are high, but you wouldn't know it from the IBT's information Brownout. Contract negotiations come only once every five years. They're the only chance we get to negotiate not just our wages and pensions,...

By Willie Hardy This month we celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, who did so much to further the cause of equality in our country. Today, it has become popular for politicians and the media to praise him, while some of them ignore what he stood for. I, for one, am getting tired of the hypocrisy. To honor the man, we need to tell the truth about what he stood for. Dr. King...

TDU on the Move See You On the Picket Lines "We just held our first TDU meeting of the year in New York to make local organizing plans. Our first project is a Teamster Education Conference that's set for Saturday, March 9. "We'll be holding workshops on everything from effective grievance handling to organizing 'street heat actions' to back organizing drives, strikes and contract campaigns. "See you in these workshops and on the picket lines."...

January 23, 2013: When it comes to defending members, write-ups for absenteeism is one of the most common problems stewards have to deal with. TDU asked experienced stewards and union representatives for tips on protecting members from unfair discipline. Here's what they had to say: Q. What's the first thing you do when someone's written up for absenteeism? A. You have to do a thorough investigation. You can't rely on management's story. I look into...

January 28, 2013: You know it's time for negotiating the next contract when ABF starts bombarding members with the message that times are tough. So tough that the company claims a loss of $230 million since 2009. The company has mailed a DVD explaining the state of their finances and upper management has visited a few terminals to plead their case. "It makes you wonder how much ABF spent on this," commented Doug Wylie, a...

January 23, 2013: Members pledge to vote NO unless contract has major improvements. Teamsters at UPS Freight are organizing to win a good contract. Stewards and active members have met for months to discuss necessary improvements with the 2013 contract. A solid set of union proposals was taken to negotiations. Members understand that it will take the active involvement of Teamster members to succeed. In January they launched a petition campaign to reach more members...

January 23, 2013: The members have spoken and re-elected 804 Members United, the reform leadership in one of the largest UPS locals in the country. Local 804 represents more than 6,000 UPS Teamsters in metropolitan New York. Voter turnout was high in a hotly-contested three way race that pitted 804 Members United against two slates led by former Local 804 officers. "Local 804 members are passionate and opinionated. They get involved. That's what a democratic...

January 23, 2013: An NLRB judge has ruled that Voith Services conspired with the United Auto Workers (UAW) to deprive over 100 Louisville Teamsters of their jobs and their union contract. The decision orders Voith to put 85 of the Teamsters to work, pay them nearly a year's back-pay, reinstate the superior terms of the Teamster contract, and void the bogus deal the company signed with the UAW. The December 21 ruling is a decisive...

January 23, 2013: While under trusteeship and controlled by a Hoffa appointee, Local 630 signed a side-agreement that created a new job classification paying $10 per hour below the contract wage. The agreement is with US Foods, a company that employs Teamsters all over the country, and undermines Teamster standards in the warehouse division. The cut-rate wage is in regards to a new machine called a Robo Wrapper. The new machine does work currently performed...

January 23, 2013: The Independent Review Board (IRB) has sent a 141-page investigative report to Teamster president James Hoffa, calling for charges against the former top Teamsters in Minnesota, Brad Slawson Sr and Jr, along with their family friend and business partner, Todd Chester. The IRB report, which is available here, alleges that both Brad Slawson Sr and Jr committed racketeering and bank fraud. While the IRB does not have the authority to bring criminal...