Chicago Teamsters Want to Elect Their Bargaining Committees
April 2, 2007: On March 21, it was no normal monthly meeting at Chicago Local 726. The hall was packed with hundreds of members, with many people in the hallway. They wanted to change their local union bylaws to have the right to elect working Teamsters to their bargaining committees. Fighting for the Future, the grassroots movement in Local 726, put forward three bylaws changes and encouraged members to attend. The union leadership brought people...
Canadian Trainmen May Leave UTU for Teamsters
April 2, 2007: Last month’s strike on the Canadian National shows why we need to have unity on the rails—and why having a democratic union is so important. Over 2,800 trainmen, members of the United Transportation Union, went out on strike Feb. 10. They stayed out for two weeks, and their strike had a huge impact on the Canadian economy. With support from the UTU International and solidarity from other rail unions, they may have...
Board Nixes Vote, Blocks Local Merger
April 2, 2007: It can be hard for small locals to survive these days—especially when we are going up against big multinational corporations. But when two small GCC locals with the same employer tried to merge, the GCC national leadership stood in the way and instead sent some of the members into an entirely different local—even though the membership of both locals and the GCC National Convention voted to approve their merger. It started in...
Investment Expert Analyzes US/Mexico Border Opening
Click here to read an analysis of the Bush administration's pilot program by investment bankers Stephens Inc.
Rebuild Teamster Power in Freight
“We’ve got to get moving now on our next contract. In TDU, we’re the ones who are going to be asking the tough questions and pushing for stronger standards and better benefits.” Jimmy Rickert, Roadway Local 429, Lancaster, Penn. Contact our rank-and-file network in Freight. Click here to join an email list for news on the 2008 NMFA contract campaign. UPS Freight StickersGet it Straight at UPS FreightTDU members in Freight are launching a campaign...
Funds Have Told Hoffa What We Need to Win in Bargaining to Increase Benefits
April 2, 2007: President James Hoffa has been briefed by the different Teamster benefit funds on what we need to win in the UPS and freight contracts to increase our benefits. This information needs to be shared with Teamster members. In 2002 and 2003, Teamsters were promised that our benefits would be secure for the life of the UPS, freight and carhaul contracts. Later, court documents revealed that the Central States Pension Fund repeatedly warned...
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Overnite's Transition to UPS Freight Is Complete
April 2, 2007: Before UPS Freight could change its corporate culture, it had to make sure its truck drivers could change their socks. Read the full story at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
BNA Daily Labor Report: Teamsters Vote Down Costco Contract Offer
April 2, 2007: Members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters March 30 voted to reject a contract offer from Costco Wholesale Corp. to cover about 3,300 East Coast employees, according to an IBT official. Rome Aloise, chairman of the union's Costco contract negotiating committee, said about 89 percent of union members participating in the mail ballot voted against the Costco proposal. About 40 percent of those eligible to vote participated, he said. The current contract...
Agreement with Rail Carriers Protects Jobs but Eliminates COLA
April 2, 2007: After three years of working without a national contract, the BLET announced a deal with the National Carriers’ Conference on March 5. The new deal eliminates COLA and allows the carriers to pass along health care costs to Teamster engineers. The BLET has not released the full proposed agreement—only a two-page summary. Here’s what we know so far: Wages: Engineers will get a 3 percent wage increase when the deal goes into...