September 11, 2008: Waste Management Inc. has issued what it called a "last, best and final offer" on a new five-year contract with Teamsters Local 200, the members of which have been on strike for two weeks. The company presented the plan to the union's bargaining committee following six hours of negotiations Wednesday, according to a statement from the union's secretary-treasurer Tom Millonzi. Millonzi said such moves indicate that the company is "closing any further...

September 10, 2008: For the second time in a month, Teamsters in the Pressman’s Union at the Minneapolis Star Tribune voted overwhelmingly to reject their proposed contract. The contract would have cut wages by 16 percent over the life of the deal and forced major concessions on the union. “The company is asking us to slash our own throats to save their profits,” said Kevin Bialon, a union negotiator who has been a pressman for...

September 9, 2008: California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown (D) announced Sept. 5 he has filed lawsuits against two companies operating at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for allegedly evading California Labor Code protections by classifying their truck drivers as independent contractors rather than employees (Cal. ex rel. Brown v. Lira, Cal. Super. Ct., No. BC397601, complaint filed 9/5/08; Cal. ex rel. Brown v. Pac Anchor Transp., Cal. Super. Ct., No. BC397600,...

September 8, 2008: YRC Worldwide, in the midst of what it says is a weakening domestic trucking economy, said Monday it will accelerate the integration of its main Yellow Transportation and Roadway LTL subsidiaries to create "one national network." YRC said it will maintain the separate Yellow and Roadway brands but the national network will work through a combined sales force and operating network. Click here to read more at Traffic World Online.

September 8, 2008: In a presentation to investors today, YRCW CEO Bill Zollars announced that Yellow and Roadway will integrate operations over the next 18 months. They will end up as a single operating company called Yellow Roadway. Outside the presentation, Chicago Local 705 Teamsters were on hand to greet Zollars with a huge banner that read “Yellow Roadway Corp. Worldwide Unfair to Labor. Teamsters Local 705.” Click here for the full story on Chicago...

September 8, 2008: Freight members and stewards from Chicago Local 705 were on hand to greet Bill Zollars today. They were outside the Wachovia Bank conference where the YRCW CEO gave his presentation on the planned merger of Yellow and Roadway. Their banner read “Yellow Roadway Corp Worldwide Unfair to Labor. Teamsters Local 705.” Chicago Local 705 has been in negotiations with YRCW for months for a new freight contract, with the company not willing...

September 5, 2008: Teamster pensions are under attack. But members are coming together to protect their retirement. These are tough times for many Teamster pension funds—and the members who rely on them for a secure retirement: Last month, TDU uncovered that the Central States Pension Fund lost over $3 billion in assets in the first six months of 2008. That’s half the payout UPS made to leave the fund last December. Teamster plans are struggling...

September 5, 2008: Teamster negotiators will meet with the national carhaul employers on September 16-19 at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, following the decisive rejection of the concessionary first offer last month. Since that rejection, a national network of concerned members and stewards has been busy building unity around the demand of “No Givebacks.” The first offer was loaded with major concessions. Carhaulers at many terminals have also petitioned to change the negotiating committee, asking...

September 4, 2008: The Service Employees International Union announced it will seek the advice of Teamsters for a Democratic Union as it forms a commission on ethics and democracy within the union. The move follows a series of problems involving SEIU officials—including corruption scandals involving high-ranking officers, as well as a move by the International Union to put a very large local headed by dissident officers into trusteeship. The SEIU announced the formation of the...

September 2, 2008: Over 200 Teamster strikers in Milwaukee are solid in their commitment to protect their pensions and standard of living, as Waste Management tries to attack both. Critical strike issues are wages and pensions. The strikers are paid on an incentive plan which leads to very different incomes, and with too much management discretion. Their average wage is far below what Waste Management Teamsters make in nearby Chicago. A prime management demand is...