August 10, 2007: In one of James R. Hoffa's last interviews before he disappeared in 1975, he was asked what the priority should be for the Teamsters Union. His reply: "I'd reinstate some additional organizers for the purpose of having master contracts. There's no way unions can survive without master contracts." His words still ring true. Our master contracts, and even the unity of our pension plans, are under attack from global corporations. Some in...

August 10, 2007: By Jane M. Von Bergen, Inquirer Staff Writer: The leader of one of Pennsylvania's most powerful unions has been ousted after allegations that he lied to a federal investigatory board. Francis "Frank" J. Gillen, a longtime officer of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, cannot hold any union office for five years and cannot belong to the union as a truck driver for three years. To read the full story, click here.

August 8, 2007: The Association of Parcel Workers of America (APWA) lost an organizing election at the big Kansas City terminal of UPS Freight by a margin of 3-1. The vote was 66 for the APWA, 202 for No Union. Despite considerable pro-union sentiment, UPS Freight drivers and dock workers are not ready to vote for an association that has no track record and is staffed by a management law firm. In the Kansas City...

August 3, 2007: DHL has a goal: “structural changes in DHL’s labor contracts to more appropriately reflect the fact that DHL is a small package delivery company.” Those words come from Labor Relations Vice President Patricia Burke, in a recent memo in response to TDU’s website. You can read the management memo by clicking here. Let’s translate that management-speak to Teamster-talk: they want to bust down conditions, and “restructure” the workforce with a flood of...

August 3, 2007: by Thomas L. Gallagher, for Traffic World: UPS reached an agreement in principle with the Central States Pension Fund establishing conditions for a potential UPS withdrawal from the multi-employer pension plan. The controversial decision to remove 42,000 workers covered under the plan would set the stage for establishing a jointly administered Teamster pension plan for UPS employees. Such an agreement must first gain acceptance by the Teamsters National United Parcel Service Negotiating...

August 2, 2007: Truck drivers will return to the 10-hour maximum driving time on September 14, unless the trucking employers are successful in getting the court to stay its July 24 ruling. In a victory for truck drivers and highway safety, the court threw out the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) revised rules that allow 11 hours driving time, and a 34-hour restart. All other aspects of the revised hours of service regulations, including...

August 2, 2007: Thanks to a federal appeals court, an administration attempt to allow long-haul truck drivers to add an extra hour to their already long day has been overturned. The court said the government provided insufficient evidence for lengthening the drivers' days from 10 to 11 hours. Click here to read the full story in the Stamford Times.

August 1, 2007: TDU supplied the ammo, and now Teamsters from coast-to-coast are shooting down the sell-out of DHL Teamsters. And they won’t stop shooting till this monster is dead. Today we received the good news that the deal has been stopped, at least for now. The Hoffa administration saw that the Draft National Contract was dead-on-arrival because it would never get approved by the members, and today called off negotiations and sent the local...

August 1, 2007: Congress has passed new provisions strengthening “whistleblower” protections for truck drivers. The new rules, part of the new anti-terrorism legislation, strengthen various whistleblower laws, including the employee protection provisions of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act ("STAA"). The STAA, originally enacted in 1982, protects employees who file complaints with the Department of Transportation or their employers about violations of commercial vehicle safety regulations. TDU was instrumental in the passage of the law. The...

July 30, 2007: Under pressure from gay rights groups and New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, UPS announced that it will offer spousal health and other benefits to union-represented workers in New Jersey who are in civil unions. The policy change comes after UPS was criticized for excluding International Brotherhood of Teamsters-represented employees from receiving spousal health care benefits for their civil union partners. The Atlanta-based package delivery company initially had denied spousal benefits for these...