March 23, 2011: The shake-up in the unionized carhaul industry continues, with no clear end in sight. Union carriers Jack Cooper and Cassens have been awarded a lot of Allied’s traffic. Jack Cooper is picking up the GM work, and Cassens the Chrysler work. Both are scrambling to get enough trucks in place to haul the traffic, and using drive-away for some local work. Allied, the largest North American vehicle carrier up till this time,...

March 23, 2011: The Central States Pension Fund made it official today—they slashed the pensions of YRCW Teamsters by putting them on the “default schedule.” The news is going to hit YRC Teamsters hard. YRC Teamsters still working or who retired after September 24, 2010, will be put on the Central States “default schedule” of benefits. This means no more 25- or 30-and-out, no more $100 per year accrual for pre-2004 years. The only pension...

Imagine what TDU could do with even more members. Can you help make it happen? Recruit five new members to TDU by Oct. 1 and we’ll waive your registration fee to the TDU Convention. (Recruit five members at the normal rate, or 10 part-timers.) Click here to download a form you can start using today to sign up new members. Return the filled-out form and dues payments to: TDU, P.O. Box 10128, Detroit, Mich. 48210....

March 22, 2011: Meeting in Ft. Lauderdale March 9-11, the Teamsters National UPS Freight Grievance Panel addressed 31 grievances. Three pertained to Article 44 subcontracting and were denied. All other Article 44 grievances remained on “committee hold,” including twelve new ones added at this meeting. Two addressing sleeper bid issues were deadlocked. Over all, the grievant and union won six grievances, the company won ten, seven were deadlocked, and five were referred back. Deadlocked grievances...

March 18, 2011: There are disturbing reports coming out of the Central States Pension Fund regarding the pensions of YRC and Holland Teamsters. Will they be put on the “default schedule,” which would eliminate all adjustable benefits, 25- and 30-and out? We call on the Fund and the Hoffa administration, who signed and sold the YRC deal, to stand up for the YRC brothers and sisters. “We were asked to approve this contract seven months...

March 18, 2011: Allied’s attempt to leverage higher rates from the auto manufacturers, banking on the higher demand for carhaul services, is continuing. Ford apparently agreed to pay Allied higher rates, but Allied has walked away from GM and Chrysler traffic, at least at this time, in the US and in Canada. In a sense, Allied is “on strike” against GM and Chrysler for higher rates to haul their cars, as well as against Honda,...

March 15, 2011: UPS CEO Scott Davis made $10.7 million last year, a 72 percent hike over his total compensation for 2009. Davis’s pay has quadrupled since 2007. Over the same period, the Hoffa administration has given Davis record givebacks at the bargaining table. UPS paid Davis $1 million in base salary plus a $232,000 cash bonus. Most of the rest of Davis’s compensation was $7.8 million in stock awards. The estimated value of Davis’s...

March 11, 2011: The Central States Pension Fund’s Financial and Analytical Report for 2010 reveals that the fund is in just about the same shape as a year ago, with assets of $19.9 billion. This is slightly higher, by about $300 million, than a year ago, thanks to the big run-up in the stock market. Central States made 14.4 percent on its investments in 2010, with a whopping 71 percent of assets in stocks. The...

March 10, 2011: The attack on public employee unions in the Midwest is about more than collective bargaining rights. It’s a corporate attack on democracy itself. WisconsinUnion members and concerned citizens are fighting back. TDU stands with Wisconsin and working people everywhere who are mobilizing to defend our union rights and our democracy. Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate have voted to strip most public employees of their collective bargaining rights. They rammed through this anti-union...

March 10, 2011: Find out about upcoming Sandy Pope events and get the tools you need to help spread the word about her campaign for Teamster President. Download the Pages Hoffa Doesn’t Want You to See Download eight pages of new campaign flyers, including seven steps Sandy Pope will take to rebuild our union, five things Sandy can do better than Hoffa, and much more.   Meet Sandy Pope Members are planning Sandy Pope campaign...