Allied Systems Goes to Court to Cut Wages
Allied Systems, the largest carhauling corporation, is going to court on April 26 to void the contract covering 4,000 U.S. Teamsters and impose a 10 percent wage cut. Management claims that the company will suffer irreparable harm as soon as May if they don’t get the cuts immediately. They are also demanding that the June 1 contractual raise be eliminated. In mid-April, the company advised all U.S. Teamsters that they anticipate court approval and that...
The High Cost of Hoffa’s PR Men
The 2005 financial reports for Teamster affiliates, including the International, are finally public. These LM-2 reports reveal for the first time the astonishing high cost of Hoffa’s PR. Three consultants alone were paid nearly two million in members’ dues money—not bad money for non-Teamsters who didn’t bargain a single contract, settle a single grievance, or organize a single member into our union. Two of the richest PR fatcats are Greg Tarpinian and Richard Leebove. Tarpinian...
Multiple Salaries Fund Hoffa Campaign
As of Jan. 31, the Hoffa campaign reported raising nearly $1 million. Incredibly, some 96 percent of the money is from Teamster officials, and 30 percent is directly from Hoffa staffers and appointees, with much more from their own appointees and associates. Of $987,000 raised, $784,000 (80 percent) came from donations of over $500, and 61 percent came from donations of over $1,000. Only four percent came from donations under $100, where rank and file...
Members Look to 2006 to Shake Up Teamster Union
January 28, 2005: “If you’re concerned about our union, you can do something about it,” says Seattle Local 174 President and UPS feeder driver Dianne Bolton.Bolton is also a member of the TDU Steering Committee. “In TDU, we’re about positive change. We’ve set our sights on the 2006 Teamster Convention and IBT election. The convention is where we can make positive changes in the IBT constitution and nominate a good slate that can challenge and...
Taking on UPS from a Position of Strength
April 22, 2006: Hoffa’s administration recently announced that our union will seek early negotiations with UPS. The Teamster officers and members I’ve talked to have all responded with the same questions. Why now? And what’s the plan to win? These are good questions. And as usual, you won’t find the answers in Hoffa’s PR materials. The press release says the IBT will push for early negotiations with UPS because “A recent statistical poll of UPS...
Local Gives, UPS Takes
You’ve got to give in order to get, at least that’s what some labor leaders say. Local 89 has given UPS a green light to create hundreds more low-paid part-time jobs at the Louisville air facility. The new jobs are part of UPS’ relocation of Menlo/UPS Cartage air operations to Louisville from Dayton. While the new jobs will be union, as they should be, the agreement does not contain any guarantee that many of the...
Decline in Union Grocery Warehousing a Growing Problem in the Northeast
The closing of a Maryland distribution center by C&S Wholesalers will result in the loss of 370 Teamster jobs in the coming months. And in February, Stop and Shop in New Haven, Conn. announced the closing of its distribution center, putting over 500 Teamsters out of work. Where did most of these jobs go? You guessed right: to a non-union facility run by C&S Wholesalers in Massachusetts. These two recent events are part of a...
Teamsters Support Call for Immigration Reform Legislation
April 22, 2006: Supporters of immigration reform have marched by the hundreds of thousands this month, holding rallies in cities across the U.S. The Teamsters Union is putting its weight behind the growing movement for legislation to make it possible for undocumented immigrants to legalize their status and become U.S. citizens. More than twelve million undocumented immigrants are part of the U.S. workforce. It’s an open secret that employers take advantage of undocumented workers’ fears...
Hoffa Rep Gives Members’ Money to Wal-Mart
April 22, 2006: Hoffa International Rep Rick Middleton, who also heads Los Angeles Local 572, has a little explaining to do. Middleton has invested $20,000 of members’ dues money in the notorious union-buster Wal-Mart. Many members of Local 572 who work in the grocery warehousing and distribution industry have been hurt by Wal-Mart’s predatory practices and low wages. Why is Middleton putting their money into Wal-Mart? Ironically, three years ago Middleton was named co-chair of...
IBT Gives Yellow the Green Light for Premium Services
Yellow Freight is about to utilize combination jobs in the Midwest to facilitate the movement of “Premium Service” (one- and two-day delivery) freight. The change of operations was modified and approved at a hearing on Dec. 16 in Dallas. January 28, 2005: This is the start-up operation for Yellow to test out the letter of understanding that the union agreed to insert into Article 18 of the NMFA, allowing combination road-dock employees to move premium...