Local 17 Officers Cut Their Pay
May 22, 2009: Colorado Local 17 officers and business agents have all agreed to take a 10 percent pay cut. Their local union website states that, “The savings from this historic measure will continue to increase Local 17’s financial growth. Following the lead from the Local 17 YRC members, we want all Local 17 members to know we share the benefits and sacrifices together with you.” It sounds like good unionism. Maybe Hoffa, Keegel, and...
Freight Teamsters Ask: Why No Contract Books?
May 22, 2009: It’s been 16 months since the National Master Freight Agreement was ratified. But the International Union still has failed to produce copies of the contract for members. If it was a program for a golf tourney of top Teamster officials, they could print it in two days. Do you think maybe the priorities are wrong? Freight Teamsters have been hit hard from every side. Wage concessions at YRC. Hoffa’s Central States Pension...
Local 743: Members Organize for Respect on the Job
June 3, 2009: New leadership is getting the rank-and-file involved to win a strong contract. Members are making their voices heard. Facing a July 10 expiration date, Teamsters at the University of Chicago Hospital are gearing up for contract negotiations. Local 743 distributed a survey to gather contract proposals and the bargaining committee is reviewing these to develop a set of demands. “We’re overworked and underpaid. We’re supposed to care about the hospital when management...
Jury Finds Ex-Officials Guilty of Stealing Elections
May 22, 2009: Ex-officials of Chicago Local 743 may go to jail for a scheme to steal local union elections. A Chicago jury has found former Local 743 President Richard Lopez and two other ex-officials guilty of a scheme to steal Local 743 elections. Three other officials already pled guilty. Lopez was found guilty of conspiracy, mail fraud, and stealing union property. Lopez and former union reps Thaddeus Bania and David Rodriguez will face sentencing...
Cuts Spread at the San Francisco Chronicle
May 22, 2009: A new round of cuts at the San Francisco Chronicle is hitting Teamsters Local 853. That’s the home local of Rome Aloise, one of Hoffa’s key point men and our newest International Vice President. Under the deal, one hundred Local 853 drivers will lose their jobs. But those who stay won’t take a pay cut. And the Chronicle will make a one-time payment of $800,000 to their benefit fund. The new deal...
Harrisburg Local 776: Enforce YRC Contract and Protect Pensions
May 22, 2009: Harrisburg Local 776 has called for the International Union to enforce the national freight contract regarding pensions for YRC Teamsters. The Central Pennsylvania fund has amended its plan to freeze pension accruals for YRC Teamsters from June 1 till the end of 2009; Local 776 is acting to protect the pensions of its members. In a May 20 letter, Local 776 President Dan Virtue requested that General President Hoffa “do whatever is...
Will Star Tribune Teamsters Strike?
May 19, 2009: Since its Jan. 15 bankruptcy filing, the Star Tribune has forced five unions to fork over $9 million in annual concessions, plus pension freezes, with nary a labor stoppage. But Sunday's move to terminate drivers' pension contributions could bring the struggling company's first strike. Though officials of Local 638 would not comment, recently retired driver Rick Sather says he's heard serious talk from half a dozen current drivers. "They’re telling me what...
Journal of Commerce: ABF Hungry for Freight
May 19, 2009: The trucking industry will have to see a significant freight volume increase before beleaguered carriers return to profitability, a leading trucking executive says. “It’s going to take about a 10 to 15 percent increase in volume to turn the industry profitable,” Arkansas Best President and CEO Robert A. Davidson said May 19 at the Wolfe Reasearch Global Transportation Conference in New York. Click here to read the full article in the Journal...
Journal of Commerce: CEO Says YRC on the Road to Profit
May 19, 2009: The top executive of troubled trucking giant YRC Worldwide challenged investment analysts and predicted his company would be profitable again by the end of third quarter. YRC Chairman, President and CEO William D. Zollars said the freight carrier’s operating loss in April was half that reported by some analysts. “It was $60 million-ish,” Zollars said May 19 at the Wolfe Research Global Transportation Conference in New York. Click here to read the...
Central Pennsylvania Freezes YRC Teamsters’ Pensions
May 18, 2009: The Central Pennsylvania Teamsters Pension Fund has frozen new pension accruals for YRCW participants from June 1 until the end of 2009. This means no new benefits will accrue to members. This change does not affect already-earned pension credits, nor does it affect eligibility for benefits. It is not known at this point if other Teamster pension funds will go this route. There is a consortium of Teamster pension funds, led by...