Part Time America Won’t Work
June 20, 2007: Do Hoffa and Hall still believe in the principle that powered our 1997 strike victory? When we drew the line at UPS in 1997, we did more than win a strong contract. We won a stronger future at UPS. Now that legacy is in jeopardy. In 1997, Teamster unity forced the company to create 10,000 new full-time jobs—by combining 20,000 part-time jobs. Still smarting from the 1997 strike, UPS management agreed to...
Traffic World: Playing the Freight Card
June 18, 2007: By John Gallagher, for Traffic World - Pension benefits are in play as never before in the current round of negotiations between UPS and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the future of LTL giants YRC Worldwide and Arkansas Best - as well as UPS's own freight division - may hang in the balance. When the $48 billion parcel giant inked its last deal for 230,000 union drivers in 2002, it had...
Yellow Wants to Close Columbus Breakbulk
June 18, 2007: Yellow has given the union a proposed change of operations that would lead to the closing of the Columbus Ohio breakbulk and road operation. Local 413 would lose 182 jobs (92 road plus 90 dock, shop and yard). The work would be aligned, most of it through Chicago, Cleveland and Indianapolis. Management wants the proposal to be heard and approved by the Change of Operations committee on July 17. For a copy...
Oregon Set to Ensure Freedom to Form Unions for Public Employees
Jun 12, 2007, By Mike Hall: Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D) is poised to sign legislation that will give the state’s public employees the freedom to form a union when the majority of employees at a workplace put their signatures on union authorization cards. Yesterday, the Oregon Senate approved the majority sign-up legislation, which also allows workers to opt for an election if they so choose. It now goes back to the House, which approved...
Reuters: CP Rail Track Workers Got Wage Hike, Bonus in Deal
June 13, 2007: The deal that ended a strike by Canadian Pacific Railway track workers includes bonuses but kept to the railway's pre-strike wage demands, according to documents distributed on Monday. CP dropped demands for changes in seniority rules, but won changes in health insurance co-payments, according to copies of the tentative contract being sent to the 3,200 workers for a ratification vote. The three-year deal, which is retroactive to the end of 2006, includes...
NFMA Wage Scale: Time To End Tiered Wage
June 8, 2007: Thousands of Teamsters are working under the national freight agreement at wages that are at or below nonunion scale. Most are not “trainees” but Teamsters with years of experience. This problem can be corrected in the upcoming contract. The NMFA has a starting wage of 75 percent of scale, which is now about $16.50 per hour. Over a two-year period, a Teamster will lose about $25,000 in wages before reaching union scale....
UPS Moves To Break Up Central States Fund
June 8, 2007: UPS management has put a dangerous proposal on the table: to pull UPS Teamsters out of the Central States Pension Fund, the plan that covers 42,000 full-timers in 25 states. Under the law, UPS would have to pay $4 billion in withdrawal liability to the Central States to break out of the fund—a penalty management is happy to pay because they can make it up over time by reducing future benefit costs....
An Open Letter to Tyson Johnson: Stand Up for Our Pensions
June 8, 2007: Where is the Freight Division of our union? While Ken Hall and Hoffa “seriously consider” allowing UPS to split apart the Central States Pension Plan, the Freight Division should be sounding the alarm. Behind closed doors, maybe they are. But it’s time to come out of the closet and speak out to defend our pension plans and our Teamster unity. Teamster leaders are elected to be the members’ voice to Hoffa, not...
ABF Wants To Bust Teamster Pension Plans
“We believe there is an opportunity in this negotiating cycle to withdraw from some or all of these [Teamster pension plans] and provide benefits directly to our employees…” “We view the multiemployer [Teamster pension] withdrawal opportunity to be the most significant thing facing us.” Robert Davidson, CEO of ABF, May 8, 2007 There you have it. The CEO is telling you that ABF would love to bust our pension plans and take over employee pensions...
Freight Survey: No Mention of Retiree Healthcare
June 8, 2007: Freight Teamsters be warned: the Freight Division apparently isn’t considering fighting to restore retiree health coverage where it has been devastated. Nor is there a plan to win a timetable for pension improvements. On May 30 a three-page Freight Survey was mailed to all local union officers. It has three questions (out of 15) on pensions and health care. But none of them call for any choice other than “maintaining Teamster pension...