November 14, 2008: Our union needs to protect Teamster jobs and seniority as Yellow and Roadway merge their operations. In November, Yellow Roadway is merging about 60 city terminals, after the Teamster Change of Operations Committee approved the move on Nov. 11. Now the two big changes, that will impact some 35,000 Teamsters, will soon follow. Two More Phases In December, YRC will submit its proposed change for the next phase, which will be the...

November 14, 2008: USF Holland got away with a contract change when the Teamster change of operations committee gave the green light to the company requiring road drivers to perform drop-and-hooks while yard personnel are on duty. This provision was inserted into their Utility Change of Operations proposal, expanding the use of utility employees. At 17 designated “Velocity Centers,” the company can now have road drivers cross-dock freight and use road drivers to do yard...

November 14, 2008: The worsening recession has claimed more victims, as the European transport giant DHL announced Nov. 10 that they are ending all domestic U.S. ground and air shipping. After January DHL will only pick up and deliver international shipments. An estimated 80 percent of DHL Teamsters will lose their jobs. Many terminals already have 50 percent laid off. Hopefully UPS will pick up most of the DHL freight, rather than nonunion FedEx. But...

November 14, 2008: Mary Seumaala went on strike in 1997 to win a full-time job at UPS. Now UPS has taken her full-time job away. It’s time to make UPS deliver for thousands of Teamsters who are being denied full-time jobs in violation of the contract. Until recently, Mary Seumaala was working full-time at Boeing Field in Seattle. Today, this 18-year Teamster is working four hours or less a day. With her son in the...

November 28, 2008: Under the contract UPS had to give the International a list of the 20,000 Article 22.3 jobs the company claims it will maintain. Our local union got a copy of that list from the IBT Package Division. My Steward Alternate and I found 11 jobs on the list that exist only on paper. That list includes workers that have moved to package car or feeder jobs. That list even includes workers that...

November 14, 2008: Enforcing our 9.5 protections against excessive overtime can save Teamster jobs in a recession. UPS made after-tax profits of $1.6 billion in the third quarter. Brown is still the nation’s largest transportation company and still incredibly profitable, thanks to hard-working Teamsters. But with the economy slowing down, UPS is looking to cut jobs and squeeze us even more. After reporting a drop in volume for the third quarter, UPS’s Chief Financial Officer...

November 14, 2008: In its new contract with UPS, Chicago Local 705 won an additional optional day. Teamsters with more than 30 years also won an additional vacation week. After giving some drivers the extra optional day, management tried to claim it had made an error and that drivers wouldn’t get the additional day until 2009. Local 705 stood firm and the company backed down. Thousands of UPS Teamsters in Chicago are now enjoying extra...

November 14, 2008: UPS profits remain incredibly high—$1.6 billion in the third quarter—but volume is down. Ground package volume is down just 2.8 percent compared to the same quarter last year. Next Day Air volume in the third quarter fell by 9.8 percent. Management is using the drop in Next Day Air volume as an excuse for eliminating Article 22.3 full-time jobs. Many of the positions that have been eliminated involve the air operation. But...

November 14, 2008: UPS uses a two-month lag when adjusting its fuel surcharges. That means customers are paying a surcharge based on the price of gas two months ago when it was a dollar per gallon more expensive. You may not want to mention this when you’re making your pickups.

November 14, 2008: Teamsters came from across our union to Cleveland for the 33rd annual TDU Convention, Oct. 24-26. Members heard from working Teamsters who are getting organized and making a difference in our union. We reviewed our progress in 2008 and made our plans to build TDU and our union in 2009. Building TDU in Carhaul Our new contract was just ratified, but at our terminal, we’ve already started talking about the next one....