NJ Local Challenges UPS Over Sups Working
April 10, 2009: New Jersey Local 177 bargained groundbreaking contract language on supervisors working in the new contract. Now that language is being put to the test. Representing more than 8,000 Teamsters in New Jersey, Local 177 is one of the largest and most powerful UPS locals in the Eastern Region. Local 177 is one of a handful of large locals with its own supplement to the UPS national contract. In the last bargaining round,...
New Overtime Guidelines Hurt Working Teamsters
April 10, 2009: Drivers and our families are being hurt by the new Opt-In/Opt-Out guidelines agreed to by the Hoffa administration. The new system has led to more intimidation, more excessive overtime and more layoffs. It’s wrong. Intimidation Aaron Nightingale, Local 150In my building, intimidation is a major factor in keeping drivers off the 9.5 Excessive Overtime list. Drivers have been told they will be subject to extra reports and will basically have a camera...
Petition Drive for Full-Time Jobs
April 10, 2009: Good full-time jobs are at a premium in this economy. Enforcing Article 22.3 would make UPS create thousands more full-time jobs. So why isn’t the International Union doing it? In 1997, UPS Teamsters went on strike to tell the company, “Part-Time American Won’t Work.” Today, UPS Teamsters are teaming up in a national petition drive to make UPS create the full-time jobs we’re owed under the contract. The 1997 strike forced UPS...
Chicago Teamsters Fight For Full-Time Jobs
April 16, 2009: UPS’s attack on full-time combo jobs has moved to Chicago. Local 705 Teamsters are fighting back to protect the jobs we won in the 1997 strike. Local 705 members on strike for full-time jobs in 1997.UPS has laid off 13 full-time combo Teamsters in Chicago Local 705 and eliminated more than 20 other full-time combo jobs by not filling vacant positions. The layoffs and job eliminations directly violate Local 705’s contract, which...
Can We Defend the National Contract?
April 10, 2009: We believe we can, even in these difficult times. But carhaulers need a national plan and national leadership. It may not be realistic to shut the door on all concessions because of the situation that we, and the companies, find ourselves in. If concessions are given, there needs to be a plan to survive the present and build union strength for the future. Part of any concessions should be a plan to...
Local 804 Health Fund Losses Hit $20 Million
April 10, 2009: The Local 804 Health Fund has lost another $1.9 million in assets, according to documents obtained by 804 Members United. The Local 804 Health Fund has lost nearly $20 million over a five-year period. Its assets have dropped from $32.2 million in 2003 to just $12.5 million on May 31, 2008—the most recent figures available from the Fund. The good news is that the Fund’s losses have started to level off. The...
Information Is Power! Local 804 Members Turn Out For Education Conference
April 10, 2009: More than 50 Local 804 members turned out for a day-long educational seminar sponsored by 804 Members United. The conference focused on the problems UPSers are facing at work and what members and our union can do about them. “This is exactly the kind of thing our local should be doing,” said feeder driver Neil O’Brien. “Sharing information, building unity and making plans to build union power. That’s what it’s all about.”...
Chicago Officials Stand Trial for Stolen Elections
April 10, 2009: On April 6, former Local 743 President Richard Lopez went on trial for his part in a scheme to steal Local 743 elections and defraud the members of their right to vote. Former union reps Thaddeus Bania and David Rodriguez also stood trial. Testifying against them is former Teamster official Robert Walston, who pleaded guilty to his part in the scheme. Walston also pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, which was his side-job...
International Union Reports on Finances, Dropping Membership
April 10, 2009: The LM-2 financial report for the International Union is now available. This report was filed with the U.S. Department of Labor on March 31, and covers the year 2008. A quick review of the report indicates that: The union had a net loss of 22,000 members in 2008. Hoffa and other IBT officers received a substantial raise in salary. The IBT lost $47 million in assets during 2008. Spending exceeded income, there...
Victory: Chicago UPSers Stop Retiree Healthcare Hike
April 10, 2009: On April 9, a federal judge ordered UPS to reverse increases in retirees' healthcare payments in Chicago. “It’s great to win for retirees, because many of them couldn’t afford this increase. They’re calling me, all excited that we won. Thank God we have a local that works for the members and retirees that would fight this battle.”Iggy GreenLocal 705 Retiree In January, UPS raised the cost of healthcare for Local 705 retirees...