February 20, 2012: Every UPS Teamster is covered by at least two contracts: the national UPS agreement and their regional supplement. Some Teamsters are even covered by a third agreement: a local rider. Members have the right to a separate vote on their supplement, as well as a vote on the national contract. TDU fought to win this right; it was put into the IBT Constitution in 1991. Members’ rights vary widely from supplement to...

February 10, 2012: UPS predicts package volume in the U.S. will grow two to three percent in 2012. Will growing volume mean more jobs—or just more production harassment? Profits aren’t the only thing on the rise at UPS. Volume is also up—and the company expects volume to increase even faster in 2012. UPS says Teamsters will handle two to three percent more packages in 2012. Excessive overtime and production harassment are already at all-time highs....

February 8, 2012: Top Teamster officials want to end your Right to Vote for Teamster President and other International officers. What does that have to do with your job and your benefits? More than you may think. Find out why—and what you can do to stop the attack on your rights. How Teamster Elections Work Members get to vote for Teamster General President, General Secretary-Treasurer, and the General Executive Board every five years. And there...

February 2, 2012: Three years after the company’s elimination of 22.3 jobs was exposed, the International Union still doesn’t know how many 22.3 jobs UPS owes Teamster members. Before Hoffa and Hall negotiate a new contract, shouldn’t they enforce the old one? In 1997, UPS Teamsters united under the slogan Part-Time America Won’t Work. Our successful strike made UPS combine 40,000 part-time jobs into 20,000 full-time 22.3 jobs over the next 10 years. In the...

February 2, 2012: The National Master Freight Agreement expires a little more than a year from now. It’s time to get ready—or we will regret it later. Bargaining for the NMFA will start well before the contract expires on March 31, 2013. Members are saying now is the time to start getting ready. “We need to take the lead at ABF,” commented Geneva Huneycutt, a road driver out of Indianapolis. “The company is profitable. There’s...

February 8, 2012: UPS Freight Teamsters know they deserve a better contract. Now they’re coming together to address subcontracting, work guarantees, and wages and organize to win a stronger contract in 2013. UPS Freight Teamsters got more bad news in January. The arbitration to resolve an important subcontracting grievance won’t convene again until April 25. That’s three years since the grievance was first filed in Dallas Local 745—three years of Teamster road jobs subcontracted away...

February 2, 2012: What do our International officials do while bakery Teamsters face production harassment, lost pensions, and threats to their jobs? They head off to the rodeo! Bakery Teamsters are facing production harassment and concessions. Interstate Bakeries, makers of Wonder Bread, Twinkies, and Hostess products, just filed for bankruptcy and has stopped paying contractual pension contributions for thousands of working Teamsters. The International Union’s response: Yee-haw, let’s go to the Calgary Stampede! The Bakery...

March 1, 2012: Recruit five new members to TDU by Oct. 1 and we’ll waive your registration fee to the 2012 TDU Convention. TDU recruitment makes everything we do possible. Imagine what we could do with even more members. Can you help make it happen? Click here to download a form to take the TDU Recruitment Challenge or call TDU at 313-842-2600 to get membership applications and recruitment materials. Recruit five members at the normal...

February 1, 2012: UPS executives report the company hauled in more than $4.2 billion in profits after taxes in 2011. Management predicts higher volume and higher profits in 2012. UPS’s profits for the Fourth Quarter were $1.25 billion—not including a $527 million surcharge because of an accounting change in the way UPS tracks its pension expenses. Including the accounting change, UPS made $725 million in the fourth quarter and $3.8 billion for the year. UPS...

Most new members join TDU because another Teamster recruits them by urging them to join, answering their questions and mailing in their membership form. Different approaches work for different people at different times. Here are some basic ideas to keep in mind. You can make use of them, and add your own methods too. How to Recruit to TDUYou Can’t Recruit if You Don’t Ask There are many obstacles to successfully recruiting members to TDU....