August 24, 2009: A review of the second quarter Financial and Analytical Report of the Central States Pension Fund shows that its assets are up, but that the Fund has lost 105,000 participants since Hoffa took office. Central States has also slightly amended its ‘reemployment’ rule which will help some over-65 retirees. Financial Report As of June 30, CSPF assets stood at $17.5 billion, almost exactly the same as the $17.4 billion in assets at...

August 21, 2009: The cancer of give-backs of wages and benefits is spreading in the freight industry. YRCW and the Hoffa administration are now using “salami tactics”: one slice of Teamsters at a time. Meanwhile, ABF is in talks with the Hoffa administration, and also softening up members, to try to get a deal of its own. Teamsters by the Slice New Penn Teamsters are now re-voting on YRCW’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), after voting...

August 20, 2009: Teamsters Local 714 -- long the domain of the powerful Hogan family, and a repeated target of anti-corruption investigators -- soon will cease to exist in its current form. Between 3,000 and 4,000 private-sector workers represented by the Berwyn-based group are being "re-distributed" to 10 other Chicago-area Teamster units: locals 705, 710, 727, 731, 743, 777, 781, 786, 301 and 330, a labor official told ChicagoUnionNews. Click here to read more at...

August 19, 2009: A letter from Tyson Johnson, co-chairman of the Teamsters National Freight Industry Negotiating Subcommittee (TNFINC) to Teamsters members of New Penn, a regional LTL subsidiary of YRC Worldwide (YRCW), suggested that YRCW plans to merge New Penn into YRCW. In his letter to New Penn Teamsters, Johnson said that YRCW called for an “emergency meeting” with the TNFINC which took place on August 11. Click here to read more at Logistics Management....

August 18, 2009: With an open threat to close New Penn—YRCW’s most successful unit—Teamsters will be re-voting on the concessions package that they rejected two weeks ago by a vote of 726-463. The ballots are to be mailed on Aug. 19, and counted Sept. 9. At local meetings held over the past few days, Teamsters discussed the closure threat and their difficult options. At Philadelphia Local 107, where New Penn Teamsters voted No by a...

August 14, 2009: New Penn Teamsters will be soon be re-voting on YRC concessions, after YRCW management and the Hoffa administration agreed upon a plan to threaten their jobs. The threat is a proposed change of operations to dissolve New Penn into YRC’s long haul operations; this would essentially end New Penn, as the operations could not be blended and retain the short-haul freight. Under this threat, most New Penn locals, from Philadelphia to Buffalo...

August 14, 2009: Teamsters Local 2727 will take a strike vote of 1,400 UPS plane mechanics by Sept. 14. The company wants Teamster mechanics and retirees to start contributing to their health insurance premiums. Management also wants to reduce coverage. Because they are covered by the Railway Labor Act, the mechanics can only strike if the National Mediation Board says UPS and the Teamsters are at impasse.

August 14, 2009: Union members who work for New Penn Motor Express rejected a modified labor agreement with YRC Worldwide Inc., New Penn's parent company, and will be asked to reconsider, according to multiple sources. If the Teamsters who work for New Penn don't change their minds, the South Lebanon Township trucking firm might be shut down or merged into another YRC entity, several sources said Thursday, requesting anonymity. Click here to read more at...

August 10, 2009: Take a peek inside the investigative reports on Teamsters Local 726 leaders -- who were stripped of their posts recently amid allegations of financial mismanagement -- and there's pretty stunning material. Some Local 726 officials sound plain clueless at times, which is disturbing given the fact they were responsible for thousands of livelihoods and millions of dollars belonging to members. Click here to read more at Chicago Union News.

August 7, 2009: The members have spoken. In the large voting unit, YRC and Holland Teamsters approved the concessions with a 58% yes vote: 12,923 Yes, 9,153 No. New Penn Teamsters, whose votes are counted separately because they are not part of the same bargaining unit, rejected the concessions. So did Chicago Local 705, Chicago Local 710, and Local 179 who are covered by their own separate contracts. The overall results show that a majority...