‘We’re Building the Campaign to Win!’
July 15, 2011: Across our union, members are spreading the word about Sandy Pope and our campaign for new Teamster leadership. Orange County, Calif. “When Sandy Pope came to southern California, we scheduled three days of total campaigning in grocery, freight, UPS, dairy, and mass transit,” said Chuck Robinson, a member of Local 952 at Albertson’s (right). “Members have been hearing a lot about her campaign, and they really appreciated getting to meet Sandy and...
Hoffa Nominates Ghost S-T Candidate
July 15, 2011: Hoffa lost his first running mate when Tom Keegel declined to run for reelection. At the Convention, the Hoffa Campaign nominated two Secretary-Treasurer candidates. What gives? Union slates usually put their strongest candidate at the top. But Hoffa is the least popular candidate on his team. Hoffa got paranoid that Fred Gegare would pull his S-T candidate, which would leave Hall unopposed and his name off the ballot. Hoffa is desperate to...
Reform Delegates Have Their Say
“Everything with Hoffa is a big show. The convention was all smoke and mirrors. “But when you pull the curtain back, all’s not well within the Teamsters. “Teamster members know the reality and want serious change.” Bill Zimmerman Nabisco, Local 206 President, Portland, Ore. Facing Teamster Reality “There were a lot of good speeches and fanfare at the convention. But now we’re back home facing Teamster reality. “That means giving members an action plan...
Brownout On UPS Issues at the Teamster Convention
July 15, 2011: With all of the violations happening at UPS, you would think our union’s biggest contract would have been a hot topic at the recent Teamster Convention. But during the entire five-day Teamster Convention in Las Vegas, only one delegate got to speak on UPS issues from the convention floor: shop steward and TDU member David Thornsberry of Teamsters Local 89 in Louisville. Brother Thornsberry was also the only convention delegate to have...
Airline Teamsters for Sandy Pope
July 28, 2011: In early June, 5,000 United Airline mechanics voted down their proposed tentative agreement. Now they are looking at how to get a bigger voice in our Teamsters Union. Whether they voted Yes or No on the contract, airline Teamsters want our union to be a powerful force for workers in their industry. They want the right to elect their negotiating team. They want real communication between the leadership and the rank and...
Rail Unions Urge “No” on UTU Contract
July 15, 2011: Teamster rail workers are urging fellow unionists in the United Transportation Union (UTU) to reject a substandard contract negotiated by UTU leaders. “The UTU rank and file should say No to this deal,” reads a leaflet other rail unions are distributing. The leaflet points out that the carriers are making record profits, so it is time to make gains, not give concessions. The rail carriers want to use the UTU contract as...
UPS Still ‘In Love With Hoffa’
July 15, 2011: UPS management is so confident of their cozy relationship with IBT President James Hoffa that they are crowing about it to industry executives. UPS CEO Scott Davis told a gathering of CEOs and financial analysts on June 1 that, “The relationship with the Teamsters is better than it’s ever been before.” (Stanford C. Bernstein 27th Strategic Decisions Conference, 06/01/2011). “That is just about as close as any labor negotiator says to ‘I...
Part-Time Poverty Wages
August 3, 2011: The minimum wage in Washington State is now $8.67 an hour according to Washington State Labor and Industries. That is 17 cents more than the starting rate for part-timers in the UPS contract. In 1997, minimum wage was $5.15. Teamster General President Ron Carey and the members fought to raise the starting rate to $8.50. That’s 68 percent higher than the minimum wage at the time. If we kept up with that...
Ohio Teamsters Challenge Anti-Union Bill
July 15, 2011: This spring politicians passed the worst anti-union law in Ohio history. Teamsters, teachers, firefighters, and students rally against the worst anti-union bill in Ohio history. The new law will face a citizen's veto on the ballot this fall.But we aren’t hanging our heads low. Teamsters are working with other unions and community groups to repeal the new law through a citizen’s veto. Senate Bill 5 eliminated binding arbitration for public sector unions,...
In Memoriam: Steve Pocztowski
July 15, 2011: Steve Pocztowski, the secretary treasurer of Chicago Local 705, passed away on July 2 in Las Vegas as he prepared to leave the Teamster Convention. This was just three days after his nomination for Central Region Vice President, on the Hoffa slate. Steve worked his way up in the union, starting in 1974 as a part-timer at UPS. In 2003 he was elected principal officer, defeating an incumbent leader for the first...