January 24, 2011: With the help of an inflatable rat, Local 804 members are blowing the whistle on UPS management. Local 804 package car driver Tony Lawrence is back on the job thanks to solidarity from his fellow members and an assist from an inflatable rodent. Local 804 Teamsters erected a giant inflatable rat in front of UPS to protest the firing of Lawrence, a shop steward and 30-year member. Lawrence invoked his “Innocent Until...

When TDU was founded in 1976, Teamster members didn’t have the right to vote for top officers and the union was controlled by organized crime. TDU members turned in over 100,000 signatures demanding the Right to Vote at the 1986 Teamster Convention.TDU set out to change that. In 1985, over a hundred thousand members signed a petition demanding the Right to Vote. Then in 1988, the Justice Department went to court against the union’s leadership...

January 24, 2011: The Central States Pension Fund will totally eliminate retirement before age 57, effective July 1. A Central States bulletin, available here, states that “No participants, including those covered by a collective bargaining agreement under the ‘Primary Schedule’ of the rehabilitation plan, will be allowed to retire prior to achieving age 57” (unless they retire before July 1, 2011). Most Teamsters want to work past age 57, but this change will be disastrous...

February 1, 2011: Can a new plan with a blank slate help organize new members into our pensions? The New England Teamster Pension Fund has launched a new plan, in a move aimed at enrolling new employers into the fund. This “Alternative Schedule” would have no unfunded liability, no withdrawal liability, and no rule requiring that contributions increase annually. It amounts to a clean sheet, to facilitate growth in the pension fund. The new plan...

January 24, 2011: Under Hoffa, Teamster members have faced the worst benefit cuts in our union’s history. Hoffa can’t run on his own pension record, so he’s trying to distort Sandy Pope’s. Get the facts about Sandy Pope’s record on protecting Teamster pensions. Cut through the spin and decide for yourself. Sandy Pope is the only candidate for General President who has a proven record of reversing pension cuts. After the president of Sandy’s local...

January 24, 2011: From June 27-July 1, some 1,700 delegates, from all local unions, will convene in Las Vegas for our union’s five-yearly convention. They have the power to amend or rewrite our union’s constitution—for better or for worse. They have the power to give members a choice in the Teamster election this November—or to make the event a coronation of Hoffa, who wants to extend his reign to 17 years. Hoffa’s Goals Hoffa and...

January 24, 2011: Sandy Pope speaks out on mud slinging by the Hoffa Campaign and what it will take to organize the nonunion competition. Question: The Hoffa Campaign says Local 805 is losing money and that you can’t be trusted with our union’s finances. Local 805 has a strong financial foundation. We’ve put our reserves to work taking on the nonunion competition. The Hoffa Campaign has made a big deal of attacking Local 805 because...

January 24, 2011: Under fire for weak contract enforcement at UPS, Hoffa and Ken Hall convened a national conference call last summer to brief shop stewards and promise International Union action. But more than six months later, Hoffa and Hall remain out of touch and missing in action. Compare for yourself the Hoffa administration’s promises and what UPS Teamsters have to say. Source: Conference call with UPS Teamsters hosted by James Hoffa and Ken Hall,...

Why is Zollars Still There? When Teamsters were asked to approve concessions last fall, they were promised that CEO William Zollars would be gone by the end of 2010. But he’s still sitting in the CEO chair. When the International Union approved an extension of time for YRCW to get enhanced credit agreements in place, it also allowed Zollars to stay on, running the company. It’s time for him to move on. Profits Expected to...

January 24, 2011: Teamsters at UPS Freight continue to shake their heads and wonder what happened to the union power they were promised when they joined up. Members report agents and officers have little to say when it comes to enforcing key aspects of the contract. They claim the International is working on it. But members see little happening in terms of results. More than two years into the contract, most terminals don’t have established...