April 20, 2007: On May 9, a hearing in federal bankruptcy court in Georgia could mark a new era for Teamster carhaulers. The Yucaipa investment company is poised to take control of some 65 percent of the carhaul industry in North America, and operate a good bit of it with wages 17 percent below union scale. The days of monopoly management are upon us. Yucaipa is controlled by Ron Burkle, a billionaire investor that the...

April 19, 2007: by Courtney Tower, Journal of Commerce : Rail operations at the Port of Vancouver were returning to normal Thursday as Canadian National Railway lifted its lockout of striking union employees after federal back-to-work legislation was signed into law. The United Transportation Union said its members will return to work today by 6:55 p.m. Eastern Time (3:55 p.m. Pacific Time). A total of 2,800 conductors and yard workers represented by the UTU called...

It's deja vu in Southern California, with the big chains ganging up on workers and threatening to lock them out of stores—just like they did three years ago, when companies forced 60,000 workers out into the streets in an attempt to eliminate meaningful health care coverage. Today, workers at grocery chain Supervalu are being faced with the same threats -- and you can help by telling SuperValu's CEO to do the right thing for his...

April 18, 2007: Over 700 members of Local 89 went out on strike at the Kroger Kentucky Distribution Center in Louisville early Wednesday morning. This strike is the latest step in Local 89's fight against third-party contracting at Kroger. In February, Kroger turned over operations of its Kentucky Distribution Center to two third-party contractors. Transervice Logistics took over trucking operations, while Zenith Logistics took over the warehouse. Local 89 members at both companies have walked...

April 18, 2007: Coca-Cola is attacking Teamster jobs in Southern California and stepping on workers’ rights across North America and the globe. Our union is stepping up a campaign of our own—warning the company that strike action is next on the agenda. You can support the fight for justice at Coke. Sign our union’s online petition to tell Coke to clean up its act. Teamsters are negotiating contracts covering more than a thousand workers across...

April 16, 2007: Reuters: Employees of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., Coca-Cola Co.'s largest bottler, may be forced to stop work if the two companies fail to address worker concerns, a Teamsters Union representative warned on Monday. The Teamsters Union, which represents more than 14,000 Coke and CCE employees in the United States and Canada, has previously protested against restructuring programs that led to job cuts at a Southern California bottling plant. "By refusing to address workers'...

Local Region YES NO % YES Total Vote 5 S 21 0 100% 21 25 E 36 28 56% 64 41 C 120 35 77% 155 63 W 7 1 88% 8 79 S 14 35 29% 49 89 C 77 86 47% 163 120 C 24 77 24% 101 135 C 9 7 56% 16 222 W 6 0 100% 6 223 W 12 0 100% 12 251 E 1 0 100% 1 299...

April 13, 2007: New York Times: If there is a single, logical justification for the wild executive compensation packages that have become standard at large American companies, it is performance. In too many cases, pay has little or nothing to do with results, and some of the most jaw-dropping packages are for executives who have been told to hand over the reins. Click here to read the full story at the New York Times.

April 12, 2007: New York Times: Labor disruptions again hit the Canadian National Railway after workers overwhelmingly rejected a tentative contract leading to pickets in lockouts in some cities. Read the full story from the New York Times.

April 12, 2007: More than 20,000 Teamsters in California have won an $87 million victory versus UPS. On April 9, a California State judge officially approved a settlement of a class action lawsuit filed against UPS for forcing employees to work off the clock. One result is that package car drivers are seeing less forced, excessive overtime. “For me this was never about the money. This is about the change. I wanted UPS to start...