March 26, 2012: Hoffa has appointed Becky Strzechowski as a Central Region International Vice President for the next five years. She will fill the vacancy created when Steve Pocztowski of Local 705 was elected in November, although he had passed away last July in Las Vegas, just days after he was nominated. Strzechowski got her start in Chicago Local 727, headed by John Coli and run largely as a Coli family business. She was appointed...

March 23, 2012: "I retired last year thinking I had a good Teamster pension with affordable health care. Last month the Teamster health plan jacked-up my family health payment to $975 a month."That's what Tom Booth, Local 896, who retired last year after 29+ years at the Anheuser Busch InBev brewery in Los Angeles, told us. "We paid for that early-retirement plan with deferred wages—why do that if members are not going to be able...

March 20, 2012: The UPS Freight National Grievance Committee met March 7-9 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, but the International Union only managed to win one (1) grievance at those hearings. The committee deadlocked 12 cases. Under Article 7, Section 5c, the union must submit a deadlocked grievance to arbitration within ten days. However, working Teamsters are still waiting for a resolution of the lone grievance that has been taken to arbitration thus far. Another hearing...

March 19, 2012: YRC, with the approval of the International Union, is now moving to implement its change of operations on a fast-track. The decision of the change of operations committee is available here. The decision states in paragraph #1 that the committee agreed that the proposed change is "unique in scope" and "must be implemented expeditiously" because of economic conditions. Paragraph #1 cites Article 8, section 6(G) of the contract, which states that the...

UPS Freight Decisions

UPDATED March 19, 2012 The New UPS Pension Plan$2,500 25-at-57$3,000 30-and-out The accrual rises to just $170 by the end of the contract in 2013. Pays the lowest pension benefits of any fund covering UPS Teamsters. Covers 44,000 UPS Teamsters in the Carolinas and Central and Southern Regions—the single largest group of UPS Teamsters covered by any plan. Click here to download the UPS Pension Comparison Chart. Western Conference (covers 11 Western States)Approximately $4,000 per...

March 15, 2012: Strong pensions mean retirement security for working Teamsters—and Teamster Power for our union as a whole. Throughout Teamster history, members have fought to build and protect strong Teamster pensions and defend them from employers—and sometimes our own union officials. Today, union pensions are once again under attack. To defend our benefits in the future, we need to know our history. Click here to view the Teamster Pension Timeline.

April 12, 2012: Get grievance advice and essential resources from TDU today. Grievances: Using the Grievance Procedure to Defend Our Rights and Build Power on the Job. Available in English and Spanish, a handbook on the mechanics of the grievance procedure and organizing tips for involving members. $8. How to Win Past Practice Grievances by attorney Robert Schwartz. This book unlocks the mystery of using past practices in the grievance system and at the Labor...

1. A grievance can only be based on a violation of the contract? False. A contract violation is a key ground for a grievance—but not the only one. A grievance can be also be filed over a violation of company policy or the law—safety and discrimination laws are common examples. You also have the right to file a grievance if management engages in unequal treatment or violates a past practice. 2. Stewards and members are...

March 14, 2012: TDU celebrates the contributions of Teamster women to our union and to labor struggles for social and economic equality. Building strong unions has paid off for women workers—literally. Women in unions earn higher wages, have better health care coverage, more rights to paid sick leave and vacation, pension plans, and more rights and power on the job. Women union members make $2 an hour more than nonunion women workers. The difference for...