July 21, 2008: More than three thousand Local 705 members turned out to the union hall on Sunday to participate in a vote to authorize a strike against UPS. Five hundred members were lined up at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday when the doors opened to start the voting. Balloting continued until 5 p.m. Members voted to authorize a strike should one be necessary by an overwhelming margin of 2,993 to 232. Bargaining will resume on...

July 21, 2008: In a stinging letter Friday, garbage hauler Republic Services rejected an unsolicited $6.19 billion cash offer from larger rival Waste Management, saying the proposal "seriously undervalues" its company. Republic, the nation's third-largest waste collector, instead wants to stick with its own deal announced last month to buy No. 2 Allied Waste Industries Inc. The all-stock agreement was worth about $6.07 billion at the time. "Republic is not for sale," James O'Connor, the...

July 17, 2008: Are new sensors appearing on your package car? UPS is expanding its use of new technology to monitor vehicles, and drivers, like never before. The company’s new “telematics program” uses computer technology to combine data UPS gathers through GPS, the DIAD board and new sensors that are being mounted on package cars in pilot areas. More than 200 new sensors are being mounted on select package cars to gather information on everything...

July 17, 2008: Q. How do you know when a proposed contract is rotten? A. When they use corporate sales tricks to try to get you to buy it. Carhaulers are getting sales calls, and there will be more to come. Many are getting “polled” and asked directly how they intend to vote on the contract. The callers are not Teamsters. They work for Contact America, Meyer Teleservice, or another nonunion tele-marketer. By tomorrow you...

July 16, 2008: Ever since the Baltimore Local 355 fund cut the pension accrual rate was cut to zero, members have been asking for answers. Now the fund is telling them it won’t answer their questions. Download a bulletin you can post and distribute to other Teamsters.In February, Local 355 President Denis Taylor said the fund would be in the Red Zone, the worst funding level, if he didn’t cut the accrual rate to zero....

July 14, 2008: It’s official. InBev will take over Anheuser-Busch to become the largest brewer in the world—leaving Teamsters to worry about their jobs and their future. The deal came after InBev upped its offer to $70 per share, from $65. InBev CEO Carlos Brito says he wants to trim A-B’s costs in the U.S. by $1.5 billion by 2011. InBev’s management has a brutal reputation, and Forbes says job cuts are “widely expected.” Many...

July 14, 2008: Bottling and delivery workers at Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated's Mobile-area operation were set to go on strike after Teamsters flatly rejected a contract offer from the Charlotte, N.C., company. Union members gathered this evening at the Teamsters hall on Broad Street and voted down the contract 176 to 15, said Jim Gookins, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 991, which represents about 275 of 300 Coke workers in southwest Alabama and southeast Mississippi. Click...

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Local Leedham Hoffa Turnout L 657 254 417 22% L 747 242 96 14% L 919 47 66 23% L 968 25 52 4% L 988 383 365 21% JC 58 951 996 17%   Local Leedham Hoffa Turnout L 79 357 846 37% L 173 40 181 17% L 385 445 781 19% L 512 197 168 15% L 528 298 377 21% L 728 1,369 724 36% L 769 664 1,057 24% L...

Local Leedham Hoffa Turnout L 6 173 159 29% L 600 602 624 41% L 604 252 7 58% L 610 109 117 17% L 618 158 274 15% L 682 133 277 19% L 688 950 732 20% L 833 64 51 17% JC 13 2,441 2,241 23% Local Leedham Hoffa Turnout L 142 209 601 18% L 179 168 298 18% L 301 94 267 17% L 303 29 43 20% L 325...