BNA Daily News Report: Teamster Trustees File Suit Against Investment Managers in Upstate New York Fund
September 15, 2009: The trustees of the New York State Teamsters Conference Pension and Retirement Fund filed a lawsuit Sept. 10 against Ivy Asset Management Corp., alleging Ivy breached its fiduciary duties by investing in a hedge fund that was “heavily involved” in the “reckless manipulation” of natural gas futures (Bulgaro v. Ivy Asset Management Corp., N.D.N.Y., No. 5:09-cv-1027, lawsuit filed 9/10/09). The trustees allege that the Teamsters fund lost every penny of its nearly...
Top Teamster Officials Get a Million Dollar Raise
September 11, 2009: The highest-paid Teamster officials hiked their pay by more than a million dollars last year. They’ve got a million reasons to back Hoffa. How about you? • Read the full report. • Download the full salary report. • See how working Teamsters stack up. In this special $150,000 Club issue, TDU publishes our annual report on compensation for the top Teamster officials. You’ll find the full report inside. Here’s the punchline in...
Letters from our Members
September 11, 2009: I think what is going on in the carhaul sector is typical Hoffa tactics.We shot down the first carhaul contract, and made them remove many of the unfair and unrealistic concessions. They run a second contract at us, that was better than the first, but still in need of improvement. That one got voted in, so now here we are months later, and they are going local to local to sell out...
Freight Teamsters: No Time to Give Up
September 11, 2009: Freight Teamsters are being hit hard, but thousands of members are ready to work together to Dump Hoffa and turn our union around. A popular sentiment at the YRC terminal in Cleveland.Most of the 35,000 Teamsters at YRC are now working for 15 percent below the national contract, and getting no pension credits. It’s discouraging to be hit hard by your employer and find your International Union leadership helping the employer beat...
Freight Teamsters Speak Out
Cuts at ABF? “Now we’re dragged into this whole YRC mess. ABF is talking about needing lower wages and benefits in order to compete. We just got notice from the Michigan Teamster health fund that they’re changing our insurance because of reduced contributions from freight companies.” Paul Boven, ABF Local 406, Grand Rapids, Mich. Who Does Hoffa Work For? “Hoffa’s trying to muscle Local 710 to get a revote to help YRC. Is he working...
Teamsters in Puerto Rico Unite for Change
September 11, 2009: Members are uniting for change in Puerto Rico, as a series of scandals have rocked their local union. TDU members and other reformers march with a banner supporting the Teamsters Making the Difference Slate.As Convoy-Dispatch goes to press, Local 901 principal officer Germán Vázquez may have already cut a deal to resign from the union after he was caught embezzling more than $55,000 in union funds. According to an investigation by the...
Vermont Bus Drivers Gear Up Early for Contract Talks
September 11, 2009: Across the country, bus drivers are organizing with the Teamsters Union to secure a better future and a voice on the job. Those same goals are driving bus workers in Vermont Local 597 to gear up early for their contract negotiations next spring. Nearly 75 Teamsters drive and maintain buses for the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA) in and around Burlington, Vermont. Members have formed a rank-and-file Committee for a Good Contract....
UPS Applies Production Squeeze
September 11, 2009: In a tough economy, management is squeezing UPS Teamsters more than ever. We’ve got contract language to protect us. So why isn’t it being enforced? In a tough economy, management is pushing UPS Teamsters harder than ever. “Our District Manager told us straight out at a PCM that volume is down so we’re going to have to squeeze more out of you,” said Ken Reiman, a Local 804 member in Long Island,...
How Do Working Teamsters Stack Up?
Last year, some of the biggest pay hikes went to the very officials who have overseen the worst concessions and benefit cuts in Teamster history. James HoffaIn his ten years in office, General President James Hoffa has nearly doubled his compensation. Last year he made $383,132. Butch LewisLocal 100 freight Teamster Butch Lewis took a 15 percent pay cut—and his pension was frozen for 18 months. Bill HamiltonLast year Local 107 President Bill Hamilton got...
Dimes on the Dollar For 9.5 Violations
September 11, 2009: UPS Teamsters are increasingly getting just dimes on the dollar for 9.5 violations—when they get anything at all. The problem is epidemic and infecting areas where members historically have been able to win full penalty pay. Teamsters in Oklahoma Local 886 have been used to seeing their grievances paid dollar for dollar. But after a year of waiting, the Southern Region panel has ruled on 9.5 grievances filed between June and October...