Local 396 Trashes Waste Management Teamsters
December 5, 2007: Nearly 450 Waste Management Teamsters in Los Angeles reluctantly voted to end a two-week strike on Oct. 31 and accept a substandard contract after being hung out to dry by Local 396 and International Union leaders. When Waste Management locked out 500 Teamsters in Oakland this summer to try to force through healthcare cuts and other concessions, Mayor Ron Dellums called the lockout a “dress rehearsal” for this fall’s contract negotiations in...
Western Conference Pensions Rise
December 5, 2007: The Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Fund, which covers most Teamsters in the Western Region, is ending cuts in pension accruals that were imposed in July 2003. The accrual rates will increase to the historic base figure of 2 percent of contributions for Teamsters with less than 20 years credit, and 2.65 percent for those with more than 20 years. This means a Teamster’s monthly pension amount will increase by 2 percent...
An Interview with Richard Berg: Reformers Chart New Direction for Local 743
December 5, 2007: On Jan. 1, the 13,000 members of Chicago Local 743 will get a chance to build a stronger union as Richard Berg and the New Leadership Slate take office. Richard BergThis election victory comes after a long history of corruption. In September the current president and three former BAs were indicted for stealing the 2004 election. The old officers continue to try to obstruct democracy and block the winners from taking office,...
Rail Workers Build Solidarity Caucus
December 5, 2007: Rail labor activists from across North America are coming together to form a new cross-craft inter-union caucus that includes all rail workers in North America—Railroad Workers United. by Ron Kaminkow, BLET Division 51Amtrak, Reno., Nev. “We have been divided—craft against craft, union against union, terminal against terminal—for too long,” says Joe Wyman, UTU trainman in Tucson, Ariz. “We will be stronger by including all railroaders in North America.” The RWU will be...
Members Set the Course for 2008
December 5, 2007: Whether or not you attended the TDU Convention, you can help build a stronger union this year and for the future. In the coming year, TDU members will be working to expand our industry networks, recruit to TDU, and get Convoy out to more and more Teamsters. TDU members also elected a new International Steering Committee to guide TDU over the next year. TDU members will continue to build industry networks to...
Letters from Our Members
Local 726: We'll Keep Fighting Thanks for all the support we got at the recent TDU Convention. We narrowly lost our local election, but that fight is far from over. We have filed post election protests and look forward to having our case heard because Local 726 members deserve to have an honest election. Our protest outlines numerous serious violations, including counting over 1,300 challenged ballots without verifying their eligibility. We will see this fight...
Burkle/Hoffa Won’t Disclose Secret Deal for IBC
December 2, 2007: Ron Burkle says he has an “exclusive” agreement with the Teamsters for concessions at Interstate Bakeries Corp (IBC). But the billionaire investor and our top officials aren’t telling the details. On Nov. 30, a federal bankruptcy judge denied IBC management’s request for the details of Burkle’s secret deal with the Teamsters. Over 9,500 Teamsters deliver Hostess Twinkies, Wonder Bread, and other products for the bakery. The Teamsters agreed to concessions when the...
Teamsters to Return to Bargaining Table With UPS
The International Union has announced that negotiators will return to the bargaining table to bargain over the supplements that were rejected. Click here to read more at MakeUPSDeliver.org. Click here for local-by-local results.
BNA Daily Labor Report: Teamsters Approve UPS Contract, Five Supplements Rejected
November 21, 2007: Members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters ratified by a 65 percent approval rate a new national five-year contract with United Parcel Service that provides wage increases of $4 per hour over term while securing existing benefits, the union announced Nov. 20. However, the rejection of five regional or local supplements to the contract will require renegotiation and re-voting before a settlement can be finalized to cover 240,000 IBT-represented UPS employees nationwide,...
Washington Post: National Labor Ruination Board
November 21, 2007: Last Thursday, a band of roughly 1,000 demonstrators assembled by the AFL-CIO paraded past the White House, in a driving rain, to the headquarters of the National Labor Relations Board. They asked the board, which was established 72 years ago to protect workers' right to bargain, to cease and desist. No more rulings. And no more new members (the terms of three of the board's five members are due to expire shortly)...