Advocate Urges Congress to Protect Pension Benefits
June 1, 2010: Retirees in multiemployer pension plans whose former companies failed shouldn't be penalized by pension reform, a pension expert said at a Senate hearing yesterday. "Orphaned" retirees from companies that went out of business shouldn't have their pension benefits cut if they are "partitioned" from the original plan, said Norman Stein, a University of Alabama professor who testified for the Pension Rights Center. Click here to read more at The Journal of Commerce....
Teamsters at ABF reject wage deal
June 1, 2010: Teamsters Union members at less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier ABF Freight System have rejected a proposed agreement calling for a 15-percent wage cut over the next three years, leaving ABF at a significant cost disadvantage to rival YRC Worldwide Inc. and forcing union leaders and management who had negotiated the deal to scramble for alternatives to keep ABF's cost structure competitive with the industry. The agreement went down to defeat by a 56-44 percent...
Three Showdowns Reveal How to Beat Concessions and How Concessions Beat Us
June 1, 2010: Teamsters can beat givebacks, even in a tough economy. Just ask the members at ABF. ABF Teamsters united and soundly rejected a 15% pay cut that was promoted by both the corporation and the Hoffa administration. Too often, when employers demand givebacks, the Hoffa administration comes to members with a sales pitch and excuses, instead of a plan to win. When another major Teamster employer, Coca-Cola, demanded contract concessions, it looked like...
ABF Teamsters Say No
June 1, 2010: ABF Teamsters have rejected the proposed 15percent wage cut, by a vote of 3,764 to 2,936. Most large locals decisively voted No, including Chicago Locals 710 and 705, Atlanta Local 728, Carlisle Pennsylvania Local 776, Little Rock Local 878, Kansas City Local 41, Los Angeles Local 63, and even Dallas Local 745, the home base of Freight Director Tyson Johnson. Dayton Local 957 members voted Yes by a narrow margin. ABF Teamsters...
Enforce Article 5.6 of the NMFA Overtime Hours May Mean Recall on Jobs
June 1, 2010: Freight levels are improving and overall work hours are on the rise. Article 5.6 gives us a tool to enforce our contract and help our brothers and sisters on layoff return to work. Freight levels are starting to improve, and overall work hours are increasing in many terminals. Now is the right time for stewards and members to keep close track of overtime hours and help our brothers and sisters on layoff...
Teamster Local Gives Management an OJS
June 1, 2010: UPS sups not following proper methods caught on tape. New York Local 804 is giving on-car supervisors a taste of their own medicine. Local 804 union reps tailed supervisors and videotaped them on OJS days. If UPS is really interested in “Failure to follow proper methods,” then they need to take a look at Local 804’s footage. UPS management denies that they alter drivers’ loads on OJS days. Local 804 video shows...
UPS Freight National Panel Set for June 9-11 Subcontracting Still on the Table
June 1, 2010: Teamster representatives will meet with UPS Freight management in Providence, Rhode Island for the quarterly national panel on June 9-11. Many Article 44 subcontracting grievances are still on the table. Tampa Local 79, Phoenix Local 104, Columbus Local 413, Nashville Local 480 and Reno Local 533 all have cases that were delayed from previous dockets. Cases on “committee hold” addressing Article 44 remain from North Carolina Local 61, Phoenix Local 104, Seattle...
Feeder Driver Beats UPS on Safety Violation
June 1, 2010: OSHA has ordered UPS to pay more than $100,000 for “reckless disregard for the law and complete indifference” to driver safety rights. John Youngermann, a TDU member and UPS feeder driver out of the Earth City, Missouri hub, won an important OSHA ruling that supports a driver’s right to refuse to drive unsafe equipment. On April 22, 2010, OSHA awarded Youngermann back pay with overtime and interest and compensatory damages. OSHA also...
UPS Profits Up 33 Percent
June 1, 2010: UPS announced that the company hauled in $533 million in profits after taxes in the first quarter of 2010. Brown’s profits are up by 33 percent or $132 million compared to the first quarter last year. The company increased its projections for the rest of 2010, saying they expect profits to increase by 32 to 43 percent for the year. That means they expect to make up to $3 billion in profits...
UPS Production Harassment and How to Fight It
June 11, 2010: Across the country, UPS is disciplining drivers for failing to maintain their SPOHR or maintain their “demonstrated work performance.” TDU’s “Protecting Yourself from UPS Production Harassment” workshop shows drivers how to protect yourself everyday. Find out: How to protect yourself everyday by following UPS’s methods. What to do on an OJS and when you get called into the office. How to dismantle the company’s case and win your grievance if management comes...