November 8, 2007: Interstate Bakeries Corp. appears headed toward the final chapter of its reorganization with the approval Wednesday of $400 million in post-bankruptcy financing. The approval also sets the stage for an auction of the company. The financing plan from Silver Point Finance LLC set a so-called enterprise value of $580 million for IBC, when debt and equity to creditors are factored in. Interstate contends that that value sets a floor for other parties...

November 6, 2007: Local 396 officials ended the strike at Waste Management and let the company permanently replace more than 40 Teamsters with scabs. On Oct. 31, about 450 striking wastehaulers in Los Angeles reluctantly voted to ratify the same contract they had previously rejected, because they were under the threat of being permanently replaced. What these members did not know was that Local 396 officials agreed to end the strike without negotiating that strikers...

November 5, 2007: Defending our contracts and saving our union was the theme this weekend at the 32nd annual TDU Convention. Teamster members came to Chicago from across the country to discuss strategies and make plans for building a stronger union in the coming year. They were able to learn from experts and each other at 20 workshops. UPS activists met to discuss turning out the vote in the contract vote going on right now...

November 5, 2007: Our union is teaming up again with billionaire investor Ron Burkle to take over a bankrupt Teamster employer, Interstate Bakeries Corporation, the maker of Twinkies. The IBT announced on Nov. 2 that Yucaipa, an investment firm led by Burkle, and Bimbo Bakeries are moving to take over IBC. The current IBC management wants to cut the wages of Teamster drivers, and demanding that Teamsters pay $20 a week for healthcare. The company...

October 31, 2007: The strike against Waste Management which began on Oct. 19 in Los Angeles County is over. Nearly 500 Local 396 Teamsters are returning to work under a new five-year contract that is identical to the substandard contract they previously rejected. The new contract will move Waste Management Teamsters into an inferior healthcare plan. If the company’s healthcare contributions do not keep pace with the rising cost of healthcare, Local 396 members will...

UPS Freight Agreement--Indy

October 29, 2007: The Independent Review Board (IRB) has recommended that Chicago Local 714 be placed into trusteeship. The move is an opportunity to root out corruption and allow the 8,000 members to have a local run for the members, and not for the Hogan family. The 250 page investigative report was sent to James Hoffa for action to be taken. The scathing report states that secretary treasurer Robert Hogan and president James Hogan allowed...

October 28, 2007: He was out of work. So he took the $7-an-hour janitor's job figuring that something else was sure to come along. This was back in 1988. "There was no plan," Richard Berg explained with a broad smile and chuckle. When he started working at the University of Chicago Hospitals, friends of his wife, a physician, would ask in wonder why a 28-year-old college graduate who had been a union organizer was mopping...

Freight Teamsters and TDU have launched a new website to inform and and update members about freight bargaining: Freight2008.org. Click here to visit Freight2008.org.

Information and unity build power. TDU is providing both to Teamsters at UPS. TDU and our Make UPS Deliver website has been the leading source of information for UPS Teamsters fighting for a good contract. While many UPS Teamsters are involved, the TDU UPS network is the only national force in our union that is producing contract bulletins and mobilizing to beat the concessions at UPS and win the contract that members deserve. That's why...