September 21, 2012: The International Union briefed local union officers in Chicago today on the union's proposals for UPS contract negotiations. Bargaining on the national contract opens on Sept. 27. Chief negotiator Ken Hall gave a presentation on key contract issues while local officers reviewed briefing books with a partial list of the union's contract proposals. Union bargaining proposals will reportedly include: Pension Increases: More money for pensions, including increases in the benefits paid by...

September 20, 2012: Speculation continues over the future of some 80,000 union workers employed by the grocery giant Super Valu, as the corporation continues to seek a buyer or takeover bid. Most of the union jobs are as clerks and meatcutters in the United Food and Commercial Workers, but thousands of Teamsters work as drivers and warehouse workers as well.  Super Valu, based in Minneapolis, continues to lose market share to unionized competitors such as...

UPDATED September 20, 2012: A former top Hoffa administration appointee and three of his goons were indicted today on a variety of racketeering and extortion charges.  Hoffa appointee John Perry, the former director of the Teamster Trade Show Division, Jo Jo Burhoe, Jimmy "the Bull" Deamicis, and Thomas Flaherty have been charged in a 30-count indictment. TDU blew the whistle on this corruption in a series of reports. Local 82 members reported the problems directly...

September 18, 2012: The International Union will meet with local union officers this Friday to finalize the Union's bargaining proposals for negotiations with UPS Freight and UPS. Every local union that represents UPS or UPS Freight employees is invited to send representatives to the "two-person" meetings in Chicago this Friday. The National Negotiating Committees will present their bargaining proposals for approval. In a speech at the National Press Club, General President Hoffa signaled that the...

September 17, 2012: UPS Teamsters in New England have voted by a large margin to approve a pension change favored by the company and the pension fund. Voting took place at regional meetings, not by mail, so an estimated 15-20% of the 10,200 participants voted. The proposal is to move all UPS Teamsters in the six New England states to a new plan which will still be within the New England Teamsters Pension Fund, but...

September 14, 2012: Teamsters have narrowly accepted a concession pact put forward by Hostess, but the Bakery Union is overwhelmingly rejecting the deal, after the bakery union president called it a "piece of crap." The IBT took no position on the contract, but presented it to the Teamster members for a vote: it passed by 2,357 to 2,049. Meanwhile, 5,000 members in the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco and Grain Millers Union reportedly have rejected in at 24 of 25 local...

September 14, 2012: I really enjoyed the Women's Conference, my first one. The speaker that stands out mostly for me was the San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White, it was very uplifting. I recall when she was sworn in as the first women fire chief in 2004. I had a hard time picking out my favorite workshops because they were all important. My first work shop was, "It's OK to be OK" which was about...

UPDATED September 18, 2012: Chicago teachers are returning to the classroom after staging a united strike to protect teachers' jobs and improve education for Chicago's children. The union's 800-member council of delegates debated the tentative agreement and voted today to suspend the strike. The 29,000 members will vote on the contract at a later date. A news update is available here. UPDATED September 17, 2012: Delegates of the Chicago Teachers Union voted to continue their...

September 7, 2012: Over 10,000 UPS Teamsters in New England are set to vote on a massive change in the structure of their pension plan. The proposal is to move all UPS Teamsters in the six New England states to a new plan which will still be within the New England Teamsters Pension Fund, but under very different terms. Under this proposal, UPS will be given a $2.40 per hour reduction in its contributions to...

September 7, 2012: Through Teamsters Local 804, Mary Ellen King and I were able to attend the 2012 Teamster Women's Conference in San Francisco, Calif. It was a great experience. You could feel the amount of energy these women generated during the gatherings. Several of the opening statements touched upon our current political challenges. They reinforced how important it is to get out and speak to our members and educate them about the abundant anti-labor...