May 9, 2007: “Teamsters at UPS have been kept in the dark about bargaining. But our right to vote gives us the power to reject an early deal if Hoffa and Hall settle short. “TDU will get the details of any early settlement out to members fast so UPS Teamsters can make an informed decision. Be in the loop. Stand up for our contract. Join TDU today.” Dianne Bolton, Local 174 Seattle, Feeder Driver Co-chair...

May 9, 2007: Teamsters in the Freight Division are determined not to be ignored in the upcoming bargaining. It is time for the voices of the members and locals to be heard. A network of freight Teamsters is forming, initiated by members of Teamsters for a Democratic Union, and will become visible in the days to come in the shops, local unions, and on the internet. Initial plans call for a website and a series...

May 9, 2007: My freight brothers and sisters, a call to action. It’s time to dig out those National Master Freight contract books that expire March 31, 2008…the names of the union negotiating committee members are in there, thirty-three of them plus Hoffa. Many will be back at the table this time around. If one of these guys is in your local, it’s time to get to them in union meetings with our contract demands....

May 9, 2007: The Hoffa administration threatened just enough Allied Teamsters to narrowly pass concessions in April. There is a lesson in that vote for all of us. In the locals where carhaulers distributed TDU information and talked to fellow members, the concessions were voted down. We needed more TDU members, more outreach, and a stronger network. We can’t wait till it’s too late: many Allied Teamsters got in touch with us after the vote....

May 9, 2007: Two shareholders who own 337,000 shares of Allied Holdings filed a class action suit charging that Yucaipa owner Ron Burkle conspired in 2006 with the leadership of the Teamsters to take control of Allied. The suit, filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, alleges that in May 2006 Burkle made his move, after his business partner, former President Bill Clinton, helped get Hoffa on board. The Teamster leadership then...

May 9, 2007: The IBT has the power to keep Teamsters in the dark about UPS bargaining—and they’re doing it. But the final say on early negotiations lies in the hands of working Teamster. UPS Teamsters have more power than many of us realize. We have the power to Vote No and reject an early contract if Hoffa and Hall settle short. In 2002, they sold us a weak agreement as the Best Contract Ever...

May 9, 2007: Ken Hall has promised that the UPS contract will improve pensions and send a message to all employers that our union won’t stand for pension and benefit cuts. “Pensions are the number one issue for our members. We’re going to focus on improving their pension. Because after all, it’s the members that drive these negotiations, it’s their issues and that’s what we’re going to be guided by.” - Ken Hall, IBT Parcel...

May 9, 2007: Teamsters in the Central States were told that the 2002 “Best Contract Ever” would protect our benefits for the life of the contract. Instead that agreement gutted early retirement in the Central States by slashing the pension accrual rate in half and raising the cost of retiree healthcare to as high as $1,200 a month. If we’re going to give UPS an early deal, we need to restore benefits that we’ve lost....

May 9, 2007: Hundreds of thousands of Teamsters covered by the Western Plan are still facing a nearly 40 percent pension cut even though the fund is 100 percent funded. The Western Fund will be even more flush after the UPS agreement. UPS will be required to increase its contributions by at least eight percent a year in Central States, and the West will get the same. By the end of the agreement, UPS will...

May 9, 2007: Over the past couple years, over 200 new positions have been created at freight carriers in Georgia, thanks to Local 728. They used Article 3, Section 2 of the freight contract to turn casual workers into Teamsters with seniority, benefits and union protection. Prior to the present leadership taking office in 2005, this part of the contract was rarely enforced. The NMFA (Article 3.2) has enforceable language requiring every terminal to provide...