Union Can Take a Stand on Subcontracting at March Panel
January 18, 2010: The dates are set for the three national UPS Freight grievance panels for 2010. The first panel will be in Ft. Lauderdale, March 3-5, at the Westin Beach Resort. It immediately follows the first UPS panel of the year. The other panels will be on June 9-11 and Oct. 13-15, at locations to be announced. The deadline for getting on the docket is Feb. 8. Our union can use the March panel...
“We Won’t Go Back!” Battle for Reform Continues in Local 743
January 18, 2010: Teamsters 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 are escalating the fight. But members are uniting to say “We Won’t Go Back.” Local 743 members are saying “We Won’t Go Back” to the old guard ways, after elected president Richard Berg and secretary-treasurer Gina Alvarez were ordered out of office by the leadership...
BLETers Team Up to Save the Right to Vote
January 29, 2010: Some rail officials are trying to take away the Right to Vote for BLET officers before members ever get a chance to use it. Now members are coming together to save the Right to Vote. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), now part of the Teamsters, is one of the oldest unions in the U.S. But they’ve never had a rank-and-file election for their top officers—until now. The first ever...
New York UPS Local Adopts Reforms
January 18, 2010: Reform leaders have taken office in Teamsters Local 804 and are setting a new direction for one of the largest UPS locals in the country. They’ve also inherited serious challenges. The 7,000 UPS Teamsters of Local 804 elected the Members United Slate last month with 68 percent of the vote. In their first official act, the new leadership adopted a Grievants’ Bill of Rights. “Deal-cutting and horse-trading of grievances are out,” said...
National Panels Set
January 18, 2010: The first UPS national panel will be in Ft. Lauderdale, March 1-3, at the Westin Beach Resort. The other panels are scheduled for June 7-9 and Oct. 11-13, locations to be announced. TDU will make the docket and decisions available online for members.
UPS Projects Higher-than-Advertised Profits
January 18, 2010: Management spent last year crying that the company was losing money. But as Teamster Voice goes to press, the company has told investors that fourth quarter profits per share will be 12 to 29 percent higher than previously announced. After taxes, UPS made $1.4 billion in profit in the first nine months of 2009 alone. Brown will announce its 2009 profit numbers on Feb. 2. TDU will post the info online at www.tdu.org....
UPS to Field Test New DIAD
January 18, 2010: UPS will start field-testing its latest DIAD later this year. The DIAD V is about half the size and weight of the current version. Brown has partnered with Honeywell to add new bells and whistles, some small and some that may dramatically change life at UPS—especially when combined with other new technology like telematics. DIAD V will include a color, auto-focus, flash camera to use for proof-of-delivery. (Hopefully, it will also help...
Online Resources at www.TDU.org/upstoolbox
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,...
No Member Vote: Chicago Locals 714 & 726 Become Local 700
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...
Appointments to the GEB Change Faces But Not Much Else
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...