January 18, 2010: Management is squeezing package drivers more than ever. TDU arms UPS Teamsters with the information we need to protect ourselves. Read these online resources at www.tdu.org/upstoolbox. Or call TDU at 313-842-2600. Using Daily Log Books: Keeping track of your day can give you back up if you’re facing production harassment or accused of stealing time—and it can help back off management too. Many UPS Teamsters use TDU’s Daily Log Book. Working Safe,...

February 1, 2010: The Hoffa administration has revoked the charters of Chicago Locals 714 and 726, and created a new Local 700 for Chicagoland public sector Teamsters. Members were not given a vote; they simply got a letter announcing the switch. Rumors had circulated that a change was imminent. But members thought they would have the right to vote on any merger or change to their locals. The Teamster Constitution requires a membership vote when...

January 18, 2010: The newest appointee to the General Executive Board (GEB) of the Teamsters Union is Al Mixon, of Cleveland. There have been five vacancies in the union’s top body in the past year, providing an opportunity to add some innovative and diverse leadership, but Hoffa has for the most part appointed more of the in-crowd. Mixon replaces Carroll Haynes of New York, who retired as head of Local 237 in 2007, but held...

January 22, 2010: Teamster bus drivers are taking a new route to a better contract in 2010. They’re organizing a rank-and-file contract campaign to win higher pay, more affordable health benefits, and more rights on the job. Vermont Local 597 represents 70 drivers and mechanics who work for the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA). Their contracts don’t expire until June 30. But members are getting an early start this time around. Concerned drivers started meeting...

Are you satisfied with the direction our union is headed in? Teamsters are uniting across our union to change course and rebuild Teamster Power in 2010. “UPS Teamsters in Local 804 have been busy rebuilding Teamster Power. First, we voted down a weak contract, reversed pension cuts and saved 25 & Out. And last month, we elected a new leadership team. “We won these victories because of the courage and commitment of Local 804 Teamsters....

January 18, 2010: This month our nation and Teamster members remember and celebrate the work of Dr. Martin Luther King and countless other civil rights activists. But for many Teamsters, Dr. King’s fight continues. Thousands of Teamsters still face discrimination, even at some of the biggest Teamster employers. Just ask UPS Teamsters in Lumberton in rural eastern North Carolina. UPS management targeted Black and Native American drivers and imposed harsher discipline on these drivers. UPS...

January 15, 2010: Teamsters at UPS Freight say subcontracting is rampant while members are laid off. TDU spoke to Teamsters around the country for this special report on protecting our contract and our jobs at UPS Freight. Drivers from Chicago, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Memphis, New Jersey, Reno and many more places report seeing freight moving in and out on nonunion trailers daily. The problem is in the company’s use of Article 44. Under the article,...

January 14, 2010: On January 13, the elected president and secretary treasurer of Chicago Local 743 won a stay of effectiveness issued by General President Hoffa and will remain in office, after top Chicago officials ruled that they should be removed on trumped up charges. Teamster activists in Chicago Local 743 have been battling to free their 11,000-member local from mob and old guard control for many years. Now the top Chicago officials have escalated...

January 12, 2010: Teamster activists in Chicago Local 743 have been battling to free their 11,000 member local from mob and old guard control for many years. Now the top Chicago officials have escalated the fight, by removing the elected president and secretary treasurer from office on trumped up charges. Local 743 members are saying “We Won’t Go Back,” after elected president Richard Berg and secretary treasurer Gina Alvarez were removed from office yesterday by...

January 8, 2010: The International Union held a YRC members conference call yesterday to congratulate themselves and to thank members for their sacrifices to keep YRC rolling. IBT Freight Director Tyson Johnson also stated that he expects Chicago Teamsters to take a 5% pay cut by February 1. The rumor in Chicago is that another vote is coming soon. It will be the third vote on the same concessions for Local 705 and the fourth...