December 3, 2009: About 1,700 locomotive engineers ended their strike against the Canadian National Railway on Wednesday after reaching a settlement. The walkout, which began Saturday, had disrupted shipping throughout Canada. The government introduced back-to-work legislation on Monday. On Tuesday, Canadian National withdrew its demand to raise the minimum number of miles engineers must cover each month.

December 2, 2009: Reddaway Teamsters in Washington and Oregon have narrowly rejected a proposed contract which the IBT and YRC agreed to. By a vote 214-208 the Teamsters at YRC’s regional carrier said No, and will retain their contract wages and benefits until a contract is ratified. The union bargaining committee, which includes a number of stewards, has been willing to consider concessions but not everything the company wants. Three months ago Hoffa appointed International...

December 2, 2009: YRCW will close if 1500 Teamsters in Chicago don’t take a $1.16 per hour pay cut: that’s what IBT Freight Director Tyson Johnson and IBT vice president Pat Flynn have told the YRC Teamsters. On Dec. 1-2, YRC management gave time to Flynn and Johnson to offer a hard sell to Local 705 and 710 Teamsters at the four Chicagoland YRC and Holland terminals. On Dec. 8, Local 710 dock workers will...

November 30, 2009: On Saturday, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC)-represented locomotive engineers walked off the job at CN. Members of the union, which represents 1,700 CN engineers, have worked without an agreement since Dec. 31, 2008, and the parties have tried to negotiate a contract the past 14 months. On Friday, CN announced that contract talks had broken off and the Class I anticipated a strike. TCRC had issued a 72-hour strike notice earlier in...

Novemeber 30, 2009: Canada’s labor minister plans to offer legislation to force an end to the two-day-old strike against Canadian National Railway by locomotive engineers. Labor Minister Rona Ambrose was expected to put that measure before the House of Commons Nov. 30, reportedly describing the strike as a threat to Canada’s efforts to recover from the past year’s deep recession. Click here to read more at The Journal of Commerce.

November 25, 2009: In an unprecedented power grab, the Hoffa administration has abolished all the Chicago-area freight contracts and imposed concessions on some 1500 YRCW Teamsters who have decisively rejected them. In abolishing the contracts, Hoffa imposed the national master freight agreement on 2000 Teamsters, most of whom work for YRC. The five affected locals – 179, 301, 673, 705, and 710 – were apparently not even consulted, nor were the members given a vote...

November 25, 2009: Local 805 President and TDU leader Sandy Pope was honored this week as a New York City local hero that makes a difference. To celebrate Thanksgiving, Tom Robbins, the labor columnist for the Village Voice in New York City, published a Thanksgiving Honor Roll, lauding “the oft-overlooked people in a city of celebrity.” Pope’s entry, “Not Your Average Teamster leader” is reprinted here. Photo: Jesse ReedNot Your Average Teamster Leader By Tom...

November 24, 2009: YRC has sold a specialized unit within YRC Logistics to Greatwide Logistics Services for $34 million, in a move to raise cash and downsize YRC's footprint. The contract carriage unit primarily serves five large customers, and accounts for about 15% of YRC Logistics' revenue. YRC will retain the great majority of the YRC Logistics operation. Read more about the sale here.

November 23, 2009: To hear less-than-truckload carrier ABF Freight System tell it, the carrier and the Teamsters union are discussing a proposal aimed at wringing wage concessions and pension payment deferrals out of ABF's unionized employees. To hear the Teamsters tell it, nothing of the sort is taking place. Click here to read more at DC Velocity.

November 20, 2009: Some 700 Teamsters employed at Allied in Ontario and Quebec voted today to leave our union and join the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW). The unfortunate choice came after Canadian carhaulers became alienated from the Teamster officialdom. Drivers and mechanics voted by 383-183 for the CAW, and Allied’s office workers voted by 21-4. The Teamster officialdom made only minimal efforts to retain the carhaulers, who wanted assurance that their pension would remain under...