Hoffa Can't Kick the Corruption Habit
November 26, 2012: A report uncovers an embezzlement scandal by Teamster officials. It's a new chapter in an old story. Why can't Hoffa kick the corruption habit? The Independent Review Board has issued an exhaustive 139-page report detailing scams to divert union funds to Minnesota Local 120 officials and their family and friends. Click here to download the report. The corruption occurred right under the nose of the Hoffa administration, which turned a blind eye....
Teamster History: How the "Club" Changed Our Union
The first "$100,000Club" in 1976.(Copies of thishistoric book areavailable from TDU.) November 26, 2012: It started in the mid-1970s, with an organization called PROD, the Professional Drivers Council. PROD collected hundreds of LM-2 financial reports on Teamster locals, joint councils and the International and began to analyze them, tracing all the multiple salaries, family connections, and more. The "$100,000 Club" was born. In 1979 PROD and TDU joined hands in one organization. TDU has published...
Wal-Mart's Black Eye on Black Friday
Wal-Mart workers are planning a series of strikes and protests on Black Friday. We stand with them! An organization of Wal-Mart workers is launching a series of strikes on Black Friday to protest Walmart's retaliation against workers' attempts to organize at the anti-labor retail giant. Workers are planning to strike in Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Washington D.C., Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana and Minnesota. Employees and supporters are organizing 1,000 protests around the country at...
Building Teamster Solidarity at the TDU Convention
November 21, 2012: Hundreds of members from every Teamster industry attended the three-day 2012 TDU Convention in Chicago, October 26-28. New activists attended workshops on union rights and grievance handling to build union power. Stewards, officers and local reform committees led and participated in sessions on running for office, contract campaigns and defending healthcare and pensions. UPS and freight members met throughout the weekend to lay out plans for winning stronger contracts in 2013. Karen...
New York Dairy Teamsters Fight Illegal Layoffs
November 21, 2012: The biggest Teamster dairy in New York, Elmhurst Dairy, has been trying to cut costs by dumping higher-paid senior workers for years. This fall, the company offered Teamsters a buyout, but few members took the offer. So management turned to union-busting instead. Last month, the company laid off the 42 highest seniority Teamsters at the Dairy and replaced them with new hires who start at just $10 an hour. "Elmhurst thinks they...
Why Hoffa Won't Take On Corruption, IRB Hits Corruption in Local 120
November 21, 2012: Skimming union money. Sham contracts. Non-union contractors. Misusing credit cards. The whole ugly story is in a 139-page report issued on November 9 by the Independent Review Board (IRB). Click here to download it. The deals have been going on in the 11,000-member Local 120 for years, but the Hoffa administration either couldn't find it or didn't want to. The IRB report details a series of long-running schemes to divert union funds...
Annual $150,000 Club Report
Teamster Money Should Build Teamster Power In a tough economy, many Teamsters are taking concessions. But top Teamster officials are riding high. In the worst recession of our lives, many Teamsters are being hit with concessions, pension cuts and layoffs.Our union has been hit hard, too. The Teamsters have lost 100,000 members in just three years according to union reports filed with the Department of Labor. But one group of Teamsters has not felt any...
UPS Contract Bargaining Update
November 21, 2012: The Teamster National Negotiating Committee has met with UPS four times, Sept. 27, Oct. 15-18, Oct. 22-25 and Nov. 12-15, to negotiate over language and operations issues. The Union has put forward key proposals on harassment, excessive overtime, and technology. The company has countered with concessionary proposals–including more ability to subcontract out jobs. Contract negotiations are moving slowly and are suspended until after the second week of January. Negotiations are expected to...
Same-Day Deliveries?
November 21, 2012: UPS has told the Negotiating Committee it wants to expand into same-day deliveries. The Postal Service is experimenting with same-day delivery of online orders in San Francisco, with a new service called Metro Post. Amazon, eBay and Wal-Mart are also testing same-day delivery. In order to deliver a package on the same day it's shipped, the Post Office will have to get the pick-up request from the company between 2:00 and 3:00...
Teamsters Speak Out on the Contract
Increase Substandard Pensions "We need an increase in the UPS-Teamster pension for those of us who came out of the Central States. It's covered under Article 34 of the contract, so if we don't get an increase, we would be stuck for another five years." Chris JanssenLocal 90, Des Moines, Iowa Protect Jobs. End Subcontracting. "There's subcontracting language in our contract but when is it enforced? Ken Hall came to visit our terminal and management...