February 15, 2010: United Parcel Service of America Inc. violated the terms of a summary plan description when it imposed increased health care premiums on retirees who were represented by Teamsters Local 705 while not imposing the same increases on retirees of the Teamsters international union, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled Feb. 10 (Green v. UPS Health and Welfare Package for Retired Employees, 7th Cir., No. 09-2445, 2/10/10). Affirming a...

February 11, 2010: Can you imagine Teamster officials willing to dissolve their local union rather than settle a case with a member that they blacklisted from working? That’s LaSalle Illinois Local 722—but the members have said No to that plan. At the January 10 union meeting, when the officials tried to get the members to vote to approve the destruction of their local, the membership said No. The members’ consensus was to settle the issue;...

February 3, 2010: UPS raked in $757 million in profits in the Fourth Quarter—nearly tripling its profits over the same period last year. Overall, Brown made $2.15 billion in profits in 2009. That’s after taxes. The company’s revenue is down from the Fourth Quarter last year—$12.4 billion compared to $12.7 billion. But profits are up because of “cost-cutting” according to press reports, including Teamster layoffs. Brown is squeezing higher profits out of fewer employees. “UPS...

February 2, 2010: The IBT has added one new International Vice President and is preparing to lose another, Central Region VP Pat Flynn. Rick Middleton was sworn in as the new Western Region Vice President on Jan. 27. Middleton was appointed to replace Jim Santangelo, of Los Angeles, who retired in disgrace after TDU revealed that the union paid $500,000 to secretly settle a sexual harassment lawsuit involving him. Middleton is the Secretary-Treasurer of Local...

February 2, 2010: After three votes, a YRC concession package has passed in Chicago Local 705, but without a 5 percent wage cut. Under the agreement, YRC will not make pension contributions through the end of 2010. This was the third vote on YRC concessions in Local 705. After members voted No twice, management removed the five percent wage cut from the concessions deal. Local 705 YRC Teamsters voted to approve the amended concessions deal...

January 19, 2010: A proposal in Congress would allow the creation of a commission that could sidestep the legislative process and make cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs. Tomorrow - Wednesday, January 20th - the Senate will hear and vote on the Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action Act of 2009 (S. 2853). This bill would create a closed-door commission that would have the authority to fast-track significant changes to some...

January 19, 2010: Yesterday Dr. Mike Belzer, professor at Wayne State University and expert on trucking economics and safety, released a report on Chrysler’s use of cut-rate nonunion carhaul carriers. It’s a comprehensive look at the impact of the spread of nonunion carriers in the auto industry. It was released in conjunction with the International Union. You can access the report here.

January 21, 2010: Chicago YRC Teamsters in Local 705 are voting yet again on concessions; the mail ballots will be counted on January 30. It’s the third time they’ve voted on the concession package, but this time the proposal does not include the additional 5% wage cut. The proposed concessions would eliminate YRCW’s pension obligations for 18 months, ending on January 1, 2011, and would keep the present wage rate of 90% of contract scale....

January 19, 2010: Teamsters Local 805 is launching a new campaign to organize FreshDirect, the biggest nonunion employer in the New York City grocery industry. FreshDirect is an online supermarket that doubles as a warehouse and a grocery delivery service for New Yorkers. Their motto is: “Our food is fresh. Our customers are spoiled.” More accurate would be: “Our Food is fresh. Our labor conditions are rotten.” The 1,200 warehouse workers at FreshDirect make starting...

A bad economy and Hoffa’s weak leadership have meant weak contracts, benefit cuts and less job security. Five challenges our union must meet to turn things around. Employers are using the global recession to demand contract concessions, benefits cuts and other givebacks, and too often they have found a willing partner in the Hoffa administration. We need a new direction in 2010 that replaces go-along, get-along with a union plan of action. Here are five...