November 13, 2009: Teamster members and local officers came from across the country to learn from each other and make plans to change the direction of our union, at the 34th annual TDU Convention. “I didn’t know what to expect at the TDU Convention, but it was a great experience. The classes, the good Teamsters I met. I will definitely be back next year,” said Fred Avila, a UPS inside worker from Local 952 in...

November 13, 2009: Membership outrage over proposed mid-contract concessions at DHL led to it being shelved by the national meeting of local officials. International Rep Brad Slawson tried to sell it, but Teamsters weren’t buying, and local officers said so at today’s Chicago meeting where it was presented to officers. As reported here ten days ago, DHL Teamsters launched a campaign to oppose the changes to the contract, which were a DHL move to eliminate...

November 12, 2009: Anticipating a visit by CEO Scott Davis, Local 177 booked a plane to circle UPS’s Edison hub with a banner: “UPS Stop Mistreating Your Employees.” Outside the hub, Local 177 officers distributed leaflets in the parking lot with the same message. Click here to see video footage on You Tube. Local 177 members are fed up with contract violations and company stonewalling in the grievance procedure. The local has thirty arbitrations scheduled...

November 5, 2009: A top West Coast Teamsters official who headed a chapter representing almost 130,000 members has resigned his post amid allegations that he sexually harassed a former union secretary and offered to be her "sugar daddy." James A. Santangelo, a 50-year Teamster veteran who also served as an international vice president, resigned Friday from his membership in Local 848 in Covina and was automatically removed from three elected positions, said Bret Caldwell, a...

November 5, 2009: The decisions from the October meeting of the UPS National Grievance panel in San Diego are now available online. This was the final national panel for 2009 and the results for UPS Teamsters on the critical issues of excessive overtime and full-time combo job elimination were grim. Seventeen locals brought cases to the panel charging UPS with eliminating full-time combo jobs and refusing to put those jobs up for bid in violation...

November 3, 2009: DHL Teamsters will soon be voting on a management-proposed mid-contract change which would include buy outs of Teamster to allow the hiring of low-wage drivers and dock workers. Half of the full-time DHL Teamsters currently working would be offered $75,000 to sever ties with the company while other seniority Teamsters would be offered $25,000. Then 75% of the remaining currently working active seniority list would be guaranteed 40 hours per week at...

November 3, 2009: Commercial mover Walter Taylor has been fighting for a stronger Local 814 since 1987. His efforts bore fruit in their 2009 election when Local 814 voted 72% for new leadership. TDU interviewed Walter about how they made it happen. How did you get involved? I didn’t choose activism. I guess you could say activism chose me. I got my union card in 1987. The first company I worked for started adding people...

November 3. 2009: Berkshire Hathaway Inc., controlled by billionaire Warren Buffett, said Tuesday it will buy freight railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. for $100 a share, in a transaction worth about $44 billion. Berkshire Hathaway, which has trucking and other transportation interests, already owned about a 22% stake in BNSF and said it will split its stock 50-to-1 as part of the deal. Click here to read more at Transport Topics.

November 3, 2009: YRC Worldwide Inc. shocked its shareholders Monday by asking them to surrender 95 percent ownership of the embattled trucking company to its lenders as the “final step” in a recovery plan. Investors drove down the Overland Park-based company’s share price by 64 percent, more than on any day since at least 1980, according to Bloomberg News. The stock fell $2.33 and closed at $1.32 a share. Click here to read more at...

November 2, 2009: DHL Teamsters report that IBT officials have met with management over proposed contract changes that would include buy outs of Teamster to allow the hiring of low-wage drivers and dock workers. Reportedly, DHL Teamsters currently working would be offered $75,000 to sever ties with the company while those remaining on lay off status would be offered $25,000. 75 percent of the remaining currently working active seniority list would be “red circled” and...