January 10, 2008: The IBT Carhaul Division will soon start bargaining with the employers for a new national contract. The current contract expires May 31. But the negotiations will be held under a cloud of concessions. As of mid-January, the future of the 1,500 Teamsters employed at PTS is up in the air. In December the International Union conducted a vote of Allied Teamsters to cut the wages of PTS Teamsters in the event that...

January 10, 2008: The International Union is selling the concessionary freight contract by lecturing members about the threat of nonunion competition. But at the same time, the Hoffa administration is giving our biggest nonunion competition, UPS Freight, a substandard deal in Indianapolis—and promoting that concessionary package as the “template” for all UPS Freight terminals that we organize going forward. This isn’t a plan for rebuilding union power in freight. It’s a one-two punch for dragging...

January 10, 2008: The changes in the cost of retiree health care associated with the tentative contract for freight Teamsters in the Central States Health & Welfare Fund are different from those at UPS, even though the benefit money is identical for both groups. UPS retirees will pay $200 per month ($400 for a couple) if they retire at 55 or older. The freight schedule proposed is as follows: Under age 60: Continue with present...

January 10, 2008: The proposed tentative National Master Freight Agreement is headed for a vote. This is a dangerous proposal that Teamsters should study carefully. The power is in the hands of the Teamsters who move the freight. Unlimited “utility employees” in every terminal who will combine road, city, dock, and yard work, without regard to local union jurisdiction. Four-hour dock casuals paid $14, a rate frozen until 2013. The new-hire tiered wage is stretched...

January 10, 2008: The power is in the hands of freight Teamsters, who will vote on the tentative agreement and all supplements. Voting will include all freight Teamsters, including ABF, except DHL. ABF and other freight Teamsters will vote because the Freight Division intends to hold ABF to the same standard contract. Freight Teamsters will get two ballots: one for the master, and one for the regional supplement. If you are opposed to the agreement,...

January 10, 2008: A study of major Teamster pension plans reveals a growing “Benefit Divide,” with the new UPS Pension Plan paying the worst benefits in the country. By the end of the contract in 2013, the Benefit Divide will grow much worse, with tens of thousands of UPS Teamsters receiving 25- or 30-and-out benefits of $5,000 per month while the UPS Plan pays just $3,000. Some Teamster funds are also falling behind as the...

January 10, 2008: The Director of the Central States Pension Fund, Thomas Nyhan, told over 100 local union officers in December that he did not want UPS to split off from the Fund, but could not stop it because the International Union and management cut the deal. “We didn’t want to lose our biggest contributor,” Nyhan stated. Nyhan also stated that Because of the UPS pullout, the ratio of retirees to active workers will eventually...

January 10, 2008: Many Teamster pension funds have shifted their benefit structure to one based on an annual accrual, or multiplier. Under this system, you earn (or “accrue”) a monthly pension amount each year you work. And if you earn a full pension, you will get the sum of all those annual accruals as your pension amount. The higher the accrual, the higher your pension. Many Teamsters are used to a different benefit structure, such...

January 10, 2008: Language changes in the new UPS contract are now in effect—even though we won’t get our wage or benefit increases until August. UPS Teamsters need to stay on top of new language—and make it work in our favor. Excessive Overtime: Opt-In, Opt-Out Up in the Air UPS is being even more inconsistent than usual in its implementation of the new contract language on excessive overtime grievances. The new contract requires the company...

January 10, 2008: Chicago Local 705 has won a major showdown with UPS over supervisors working. By threatening the company with a strike, Local 705 forced UPS to create more than 200 package car and part-time jobs and to curb future supervisors working violations. The victory is the culmination of a multi-year campaign by Local 705 to take on supervisors working violations. Over the last three years, business agents and shop stewards won a total...