May 15, 2009: Step right up to the “Nest Egg Toss” game! On April 23 on the front lawn of the Ontario legislature, workers could toss an egg representing their “nest egg” at painted pictures of nests. The eggs splatted on the plywood and ran down, just like auto workers’ hopes for a decent retirement. About 13,000 people, mostly retired Canadian Auto Workers members, gathered in front of the legislature to tell Premier Dalton McGuinty...

May 15, 2009: This May TDU is bringing Teamsters together for educational events on winning grievances, bargaining better contracts, and improving our union. Last Saturday in Chicago, Teamsters joined labor activists from other unions for a one-day “Troublemakers School,” sponsored by Labor Notes magazine. TDU leaders and members organized four workshops at the school, including Defending Our Contracts in Hard Times; Preparing Your Grievances to Win at Arbitration; Understanding the Union and Your Contract (in...

May 15, 2009: YRC announced they will apply for federal bailout money, possibly as soon as today, citing their pension costs as a factor. YRC may have a difficult task, because TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) funds have only gone to the big auto companies, aside from banks and financial institutions. But YRC may have a back-up plan. CEO Bill Zollars told the Wall Street Journal that he hopes to “get the conversation going” with...

May 14, 2009: YRC has proposed a new Change of Operations to be heard by the union committee the week of June 1. The company plans to close some 28 more terminals, which management says are no longer needed. See a copy of the proposed change here. What do you think? Click here to send your comments to Teamsters for a Democratic Union.

May 14, 2009: Just four days before George Bush left office, the Department of Labor put new restrictions to the Family and Medical Leave Act into effect. Now a new bill would restore protections. On April 29, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) introduced the FMLA Restoration Act to roll back the changes made by Bush. The Family and Medical Leave Act, a 1993 federal law, requires employers to allow eligible employees up to 12 weeks time...

May 13, 2009: New Jersey Teamsters officer Fred Potter has been named director of the union's port division, which has been attempting to organize harbor truck drivers at U.S. seaports. Read the full story in the Journal of Commerce.

UPS is implementing new technology that allows management to monitor package car drivers like never before. Telematics combines data gathered through GPS, the DIAD board and new sensors that are being mounted on package cars. Click here to see an example of a Telematics printout that management uses to monitor drivers. Through more than 200 sensors, management can monitor when you drive with your seatbelt off or your bulkhead door open, how many times you...

May 6, 2009: It’s been 15 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 employers and Teamster officials, they could print it in two days. Do you think maybe their priorities are wrong? Freight Teamsters have been hit hard from every side. Wage concessions at YRC. Hoffa’s Central States...

May 6, 2009: In 2008, the Baltimore Local 355 Pension Fund dropped over $100 million—but a new law will let the fund stay in the Green Zone for one more year. TDU Workshop & Cookout This Saturday Maryland Teamsters are coming together for an educational workshop on “Building Power to Win Grievances.” This workshop and cookout is your chance to meet and talk with other Local 355 members who are working to improve the union....

May 5, 2009: A federal jury May 1 in Chicago handed down guilty verdicts against the former president of International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 743 and two former officers charged with labor fraud and theft in connection with a union election rigging scheme (United States v. Lopez, N.D. Ill., No. 07-580, jury verdict 5/1/09). The trial began April 6 and the jury deliberated for three days before convicting Richard Lopez and Thaddeus Bania on criminal...