Union vote authorizes garbage strike in King and Snohomish counties
March 29, 2010: The union representing about 500 garbage truck drivers voted Sunday to authorize a strike against two major trash hauling companies that serve thousands of homes and businesses in King and Snohomish counties. The near-unanimous vote by members of Teamsters Local 174 is the first step toward a possible strike, which could ultimately shut down garbage and recycling collection for whole sections of the Puget Sound region. Click here to read more at...
On the Defensive at UPS
March 26, 2010: President Hoffa and Ken Hall responded to TDU’s calls for stronger contract enforcement in a conference call with UPS shop stewards. The Teamsters Package Division held a conference call last night for UPS shop stewards on legislative and contract enforcement issues. Much of the call focused on a report on an upcoming fight over legislation that would make it easier for FedEx employees to exercise their right to join our union. Click...
IBT Promises Action to Close Fed Loophole
March 26, 2010: Hoffa and Hall told UPS shop stewards via conference call to “be ready” for a push to win passage of a law that will make it easier for FedEx workers to join our union. As previously reported by TDU, the Teamsters Union and UPS have backed a bill that would close a loophole that makes FedEx the only parcel company in the U.S. that is covered by the Railway Labor Act—a labor...
Kansas City Business Journal: YRC Worldwide CEO’s compensation slides in 2009
March 26, 2010: Reflecting YRC Worldwide Inc.’s dismal 2009, CEO Bill Zollars saw his annual compensation decline almost 10 percent to $1.9 million, according to an analysis of securities filings. Zollars received a base salary of $928,104, which included a 10 percent pay cut he shared with other non-union employees, the company reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission late Thursday. He also received a $135,000 “other compensation” fund, which he could use for various...
Southern Locals Paying $1.7 Million for Multiple Pensions
March 25, 2010: Every local in the South is being forced to pay tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to bankroll big extra pensions for Teamster officials. It’s a case of misusing union members’ money to provide outsized perks to officials, instead of to build our Teamsters Union. The locals are paying about $1.7 million this year to the Southern Region of Teamsters Pension Fund, which covers only the full-time officers and staff of...
Seattle Times: Garbage haulers in King, Snohomish counties could strike next week
March 26, 2010: Garbage, recycling and yard-waste haulers for more than 1 million homes in King and Snohomish counties are threatening to strike next week. Garbage, recycling and yard-waste haulers for more than 1 million homes and businesses in King and Snohomish counties are threatening to strike next week. About 500 workers for Waste Management and Allied Waste — members of Teamsters Local 174 — will vote Sunday whether to strike if they can't settle...
Strike looms for garbage workers in King, Snohomish counties
March 25, 2010: SEATTLE - Millions of people who live in King County and parts of Snohomish County could see their garbage start piling up if trash collectors walk off the job. Waste Management and Allied Waste have been at the bargaining table with Teamsters Local 117 and 174, but talks could soon break down. The unions claim there are two issues at stake: employee safety and pay cuts. Click here to read more at...
Senate Maintains FedEx Loophole
March 23, 2010: The Senate passed the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill yesterday, but excluded a provision that would make it easier for FedEx workers to unionize. The Teamsters and UPS backed a bill that would level the playing field by putting FedEx under the same labor laws that cover UPS. The passage of the Senate bill without this labor reform sets up a possible clash with the House bill. For years, FedEx has used...
Congress to consider YRC pension relief
March 23, 2010: YRC Worldwide Inc.’s push to get relief for its benefits costs picked up momentum Monday as the U.S. Senate began to consider a bill that would address problems with multi-employer pension plans. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania said he would introduce a bill intended to protect the pension payments of retirees of failed businesses while assisting companies such as YRC, whose pension liabilities include non-YRC retirees. Click here to read more at...
UPS National Grievance Decisions
March 19, 2010: The decisions from the first meeting of the National Grievance panel of 2010 are now available from TDU. The most common grievance at the panel dealt with Article 22.3 and the company’s elimination of full-time combo jobs we won in the 1997 strike. Members across the country have filed grievances to save thousands of full-time combo positions that the company is eliminating in violation of the contract. The national panel did not...