UPS Wants Control to Keep Lid on Our Pensions
September 27, 2007: As October 1 approaches, the National Negotiating Committee is preparing to cave in to the company's demand to break out of the Central States Pension Fund. Instead of Central States, the company wants to establish a new UPS-Teamster fund where the company would control half of the votes. The record shows that UPS will use its greater control to keep a lid on benefits and push for pension cuts. That's just what...
DHL Fires Stewards
September 24, 2007: As the rank and file campaign for a good DHL contract heats up, DHL management has responded by firing two stewards in Pittsburgh. This attack on our union has to be addressed head-on. On Sept. 25, management fired Local 249 chief steward Gary Alward while he was representing a member who was being questioned about a gap report. Just five days earlier, they fired Local 249 committeeman Mark Woods while he was...
Support UAW Strikers
September 24, 2007: The United Auto Workers strike at General Motors has 73,000 members on the picket lines. Lots more may be idled soon as the impact spreads to supplier plants, Canadian plants and to Teamster carhaulers and other truck drivers. The auto workers are striking against huge concession demands and for preserving manufacturing jobs in North America, and deserve all of our support. They have already agreed to concessions and plant closings in recent...
Hours of Service: One Year Delay?
September 21, 2007: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has asked for a one-year stay of the Court of Appeals decision striking down two aspects of the Hours of Service regulations. In July the court unanimously struck down the 11-hour driving time and the 34-hour restart, which allows drivers to work more than 70 hours in an eight day period. It was the second time the court had slapped the FMCSA for putting profits ahead...
Chicago Teamsters Say No Again
September 21, 2007: For the second time in three weeks, the 2,100 Teamsters who move the City of Chicago have rejected their contract. On Sept. 20, they voted 560-519 to reject a ten-year contract that would put their future at risk. "The members are getting it-they're informed. That makes this battle a lot easier," Vince Tenuto explained. Tenuto is a leader in the Fighting for the Future movement in Local 726. Fighting for the Future...
DHL Contract Bargaining Opens
September 18, 2007: On September 19, Brad Slawson (co-chair of the DHL negotiating committee) will meet with DHL management to set a schedule and location for bargaining. We are getting near to crunch time in the contract that will determine our Teamster future at DHL. Meanwhile, another important set of negotiations is starting. On September 24, bargaining formally opens for the National Master Freight Agreement (NMFA). The Freight Division held a meeting for all affected...
Congressman Says FMCSA Too Easy on Repeat Safety Offenders
September 17, 2007: By Kevin Jones: The federal government is not being tough enough on trucking companies that are violating safety laws, says Rep. Jim Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Oberstar, a Minnesota Democrat, on Friday cited a recently released report by the General Accounting Office, compiled at the committee’s request, that concluded the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is identifying high risk carriers, but not following through with tough...
BLET President Caught Embezzling
September, 17, 2007: The president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) Don Hahs has been charged with embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from the union. Hahs spent the money to pay for everything from Cleveland Cavs tickets to a fishing expedition to Alaska. The Independent Review Board (IRB) issued the charges on September 13. Hahs has been a Hoffa International Rep since the BLET merged with the Teamsters in 2004. His...
UPS Negotiators Told to Finish Supplements This Week
September 17, 2007: National bargaining has been suspended until Sept. 24. Negotiations on more than 30 supplemental agreements and local riders are being held this week. Local and supplemental negotiators have been instructed by the IBT to complete bargaining on all supplements by the end of the week. Supplements are regional and local addenda to the national agreement that contain language governing our working conditions and rights. Across the country, management has taken a hard...