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...

January 18, 2010: Will 2010 be better than 2009? Let’s hope so. Thankfully, Teamster members are coming together from across our union to organize for positive change. TDU’s staff, leaders, and activists are getting down to work to help members organize for change. They’re getting on the road, holding meetings, reaching out to new Teamsters, and sponsoring educational workshops and conferences. We’re reaching out across our union to build the army of activists we need...

January 18, 2010: Like a cat with nine lives, YRCW rolled into 2010 with its debt-reduction plan implemented. The International Union got some credit for closing the deal by threatening to expose any hedge funds which refused to tender their YRC bonds because they could profit from a bankruptcy. The YRC situation has highlighted the need for new financial regulations to make such instruments illegal. Why give brokers and bankers incentives to close companies and...

January 18, 2010: While record cold temps are hitting the country, management at UPS Freight in Atlanta is taking penny-pinching to an absurd level. They turned off the heat in the break room entirely. Management said that the Coke machines would keep the room warm. It didn’t work. The water cooler froze solid.