Last spring, Baltimore Teamsters had their pensions cut to zero. Now they are building a force for change. Local 355 pension trustees had left members in the dark for years about how their fund was doing. And local president Denis Taylor refused to tell members how long the cuts would last, or what his plan was to improve benefits. Members were angry. Some were ready to give up on their union. But a few started...

Four years ago, Local 814 Teamsters at Sotheby’s were locked out and took major concessions. This year, they won their best contract in more than a decade. In July, Sotheby’s Teamsters won a new contract that includes a hike in starting pay that closes the pay gap between newer and older workers and language improvement that strengthens union power. The contract victory culminates a year-long campaign by rank-and-file members who worked with Teamsters for a...

December 17, 2008: UPS Freight tried to steal Christmas from 12,000 Teamsters. That won’t happen thanks to union action. UPS Freight management tried to get out of paying holiday pay for Dec. 24 and 25 by declaring Dec. 26 a “no service day.” Poorly-written language in the UPS Freight agreement states Teamsters will get holiday pay “provided they work either the day before and the day after the holiday.” (Article 25, Section 4) The company...

December 16, 2008: The rise and fall of Teamster reformer Ron Carey, who died December 11, is still a much contested tale. His political demise, a decade ago, was a tragedy for some and a case of hypocrisy punished to others. In the demonology of current Teamster leaders, Carey left the union in financial trouble and personal disgrace, after serving as president from 1992 to 1997. A jury later absolved him of criminal responsibility for...

December 15, 2008: A long-troubled Teamsters local has elected a leadership slate of reformers, throwing out incumbents accused of steering nonunion work to preferred companies in exchange for favors and jobs for relatives. Teamsters Local 631 represents 6,500 workers in the convention industry, in trash collection, and for United Parcel Service and other companies. A slate led by Kevin Hardison and John Phillipenas solidly defeated the incumbents, headed by Wayne King and Tommy Blitsch, in...

December 15, 2008: Teamster members have been writing in from across the country to share their memories of Ron Carey and show their condolences to Ron Carey’s family and friends. Click here to send your personal remembrance of Ron Carey. He touched thousands of us and we will not be able to post all of our remembrances, but we know that he is in the hearts and minds of many in our union. Read more...

Willie HardyI would like for the world to know about a true labor leader and a true friend of mine, brother Ron Carey. I worked with Ron in the Government Affairs Dept of the IBT. I was the second African American to work in that department. He treated me as a man and with respect. If any of us had a problem, we could go see him and he would take care of it. I...

Tim BubanA Ron Carey comes along once in a generation. His legacy will always be the UPS strike and the massive victory it brought to all of us in organized labor. But to those of us who knew him we remember a kind, compassionate man who was sensitive to others feelings. A fearless person who was willing to take on any foe regardless of how big or powerful, and who at the same time was...

Ken CroweOn the day Ron Carey was elected president of the Teamsters in 1991, I rode with him in a cab interviewing him all the way from downtown Washington to the airport. After we were dropped off, we realized we were in the wrong terminal. Carey picked up his two heavy bags--refusing my offer to carry one of them—and we ran (literally) to the right terminal. That scene sums up Carey: self-effacing and ambitious. Most...

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