How Long Can Rail Teamsters Go Without a National Contract?
Rail Teamsters are starting to wonder just how long they can go without a new contract. Negotiations began in 2004 between the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the National Carriers’ Conference Committee, but the two parties have still not agreed to a new contract. The talks stalled when the carriers demanded single-crew operation of trains. Both the BLET and the UTU refused to budge over the issue. Health Care Costs: Out of...
Milwaukee Local 200 President Referred to IRB
February 27, 2007: Tom Bennett, the new president of Local 200, was caught by the Election Supervisor illegally using the union membership list in his campaign for local union office against reform leaders Tim Buban and Darryl Connell. In addition, the Election Supervisor ruled that Bennett lied to investigators in an attempt to cover it up. Bennett was fined $500 and on Jan. 26 the Election Supervisor referred the matter to the Independent Review Board...
New York Times Editorial: Support the Employee Free Choice Act
March 6, 2007: In this editorial, the New York Times supports the Employee Free Choice Act, the proposed law that would make it harder for employers to keep workers from joining unions. Click here to read the story.
We Need a Strong NMFA
Our NMFA is up March 31, 2008, and we need Mr. Hoffa and the International Negotiations Committee to stop treating freight Teamsters like second class union members. We are paid far short of the UPS drivers, yet we do the same work as they do, plus the additional responsibility of hauling hazmats. We also have to work forced overtime and our companies manipulate workers into doing the work of three or more employees for the...
Letters From Our Members
Martin Luther King Holiday : Why not now? On Jan. 15, Local 728 proudly joined in the Martin Luther King Day march here in Atlanta, Dr. King’s home and also the headquarters of UPS. It’s time for UPS to recognize the Martin Luther King holiday that our country celebrates, but too many corporations ignore. If we win this at UPS, we can take that win to lots of other Teamster employers. One of UPS’s two...
Hoffa Fires Larry Brennan
James Hoffa removed Michigan Joint Council President Larry Brennan from his International position effective Jan. 1. Brennan lost a $50,000 salary but will continue to head the Michigan Joint Council and Detroit Local 337. The firing, along with that of Brennan’s assistant Dennis Hands, shocked Teamster insiders, because it was Brennan who gave Hoffa a no-show job as an assistant for two years to make him eligible to run for office in the Teamsters Union....
Hoffa Moves Missouri, Texas to Western Fund
The IBT Freight Division has signed contracts with USF Bestway, a division of Yellow Roadway, in Missouri and Texas that put Teamsters there into the Western Conference Pension Fund. Missouri and Texas are in the heart of the territory of the Central States Fund, so what gives? Apparently the corporation prefers the Western Fund, because it doesn’t have to carry unfunded liability on its books. What about protecting our Central States Fund by putting Teamsters...
Hoffa Golf Tourney
They say charity begins at home. But sometimes it begins with your dues. Hundreds of Teamster officials will each put down $1,300 in fees for the James R. Hoffa charity golf tourney in Las Vegas, to be held May 1-3 at the Paiute golf resort. And now, they can also put down another $1,300 for a poker tournament as well. They golf, gamble and mix with various Teamster employers. That’s some nice charity, but it...
Rail Teamsters Push to Merge Rival Unions
Railroad engineers and trainmen from two unions are out to win greater solidarity and union democracy on the rails. On Jan. 1, Railroad Operating Crafts United (ROCU) officially launched its campaign to unite the two unions: the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) and the United Transportation Union (UTU). If ROCU is successful in bringing about a merger, it will mean over 100,000 rail workers would be in the same union, a big step...
Is Union Pacific Geting Ready for One-Person Crews?
The rail carriers have dropped their demands for single-person crews in this round of bargaining. But this summer, Union Pacific will begin testing new technology that could allow for train operation with only a single crew person, according to the Omaha World-Herald. Right now union contracts require operation by a two-person crew: a conductor and an engineer. UP will test two new technologies that might reduce the amount of crew control necessary to run a...