January 10, 2008: “If you’re a steward always go up to a sup who is working and ask, ‘What’s going on? Why are you working?’ Or, ‘Do you need some help here?’” said Barb Ramirez from Local 206 in Eugene, Ore. “At first this takes courage, but it gets easier and it must be done to demand respect for the contract. If you’re not a steward, you can still ask these questions. If the supervisor...

January 10, 2008: Change continues to be on the agenda in Chicago Local 726 as Members of the Fighting for the Future Team plan to re-introduce bylaws changes they made last January. They’re at it again because they won a protest at Joint Council 25 over how Local 726 officers conducted the vote. This year, there has to be a verified count on the bylaws proposals, instead of a rigged voice vote. Fighting for the...

January 10, 2008: Forty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, where he was organizing support for striking sanitation workers. Today, many Teamster members still don’t have Martin Luther King Day off, even though it’s a federal holiday. Even worse, at least one Teamster employer marks Martin Luther King Day by laying off Teamster drivers without pay. This year, Local 807 members are standing up against this practice. Kraft Foods in...

BLET: Get Our Union Back on the Right Track I am very frustrated with the BLET, as are a great many other members. It must have come as a great shock to all of the General Chairmen who negotiated the “great deal” on the Norfolk Southern that it was defeated. The deal sucked. Guess what? We can read! I had hoped that Hoffa and the Teamsters would have done a better job on the Hahs...

The tentative NMFA contains the dangerous concessions that we have outlined here over the past month. Click here to read the full contract and download a leaflet to distribute from Freight2008.org.

January 7, 2008: Today, the Bush administration spat in the public’s face by allowing full access to U.S. roads to yet another Mexico-based carrier — despite Congress’ clear intent that the reckless NAFTA trucking pilot program be brought to an end.The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced today that the Baja-based carrier Madereria Las Lomitas is now authorized to send a truck throughout U.S. roads. That means 12 Mexico-based carriers are now sending 57...

January 8, 2008: A similar bankruptcy case may give Interstate Bakeries Corp. some ammunition against private investment fund Yucaipa Cos. LLC as the union-friendly investor tries to firm up an offer for bankrupt IBC. So far, the Kansas City Twinkie-maker's attempts to learn details of Yucaipa's plan and of its exclusive relationship with one of IBC's largest unions, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, have been denied. That relationship seemingly has tied IBC's hands because its...

January 8, 2008: The International Union has opened a very narrow window to allow carhaulers a chance to submit proposals for the new national contract. That window shuts on January 15, the deadline for members’ proposals. Some locals are holding meetings to take and discuss proposals, but some are not. Carhaulers who want to submit contract proposals should use the Carhaul Division’s form. A copy of that form is available for download here. Those forms...

January 7, 2008: Teamster local officers will meet on January 8 in Washington to get a copy of the proposed tentative NMFA, and will then vote Yes or No to recommend approval to the membership. The changes to the NMFA and all supplements will be available at the meeting, and then should then be available to all freight Teamsters. Every Teamster has a right to get the proposed master and supplements. You may also want...

January 3, 2008: DHL bargaining is moving on to wages and is expected to wrap up soon. Disastrous concessions have already been agreed to in the tentative deal, so members need to prepare now to defeat these givebacks. Officers involved in the negotiations report that the proposed tentative deal will include the greatly increased use of part-timers on docks and for air pick-ups. It will contain language to red circle existing full-time Teamsters, by name,...