Go Teamsters: ATT Workers to Vote on Union
Auto Truck Transport (ATT) drivers across the country will soon get a chance to vote to become Teamsters. In mid- September the NLRB issued the election decision for 1,300 drivers in a nation-wide unit. ATT is controlled by Dennis Troha, the CEO of Active Transport, which is covered by our national carhaul contract. ATT was created a decade ago as a union-busting device, and Troha has been able to evade the language against double-breasting in...
Union Hires Pollster to Sell Carhaul Concessions
The Hoffa administration hired a polling firm in May to ask many of the 4,000 Teamsters employed by Allied Automotive Group if they would accept mid-term contract concessions. The poll asked Teamsters if they would forego the June 1 wage increase of 40 cents per hour or accept other concessions. U.S. and Canadian Teamster carhaulers have not had a raise in three years. Allied management (or is it mismanagement?) has once again demanded concessions, claiming...
DHL: The Next Move?
Mergers and acquisitions are the name of the game in the new trucking industry as companies scramble to compete against one another in all sectors of the market: LTL freight, parcel delivery and global logistics. DHL may be the next big player to buy a major freight carrier. Analysts agree that if they intend to grow and compete with UPS and FedEx, DHL cannot remain strictly an airfreight operation. Airfreight’s rapid expansion is over and...
Teamster Officials Meet to Discuss UPS Contract Enforcement
In June, officers and BAs attended a meeting in Chicago to discuss the international union’s plans for UPS contract enforcement. Three years into the UPS contract, it is the first such meeting held.Whether the Chicago meeting is the start of something good or just a pre-IBT election chance to politic remains to be seen. But if the IBT says they are setting a new course, we should hold them to it. One point addressed at...
Why No Fizz in the UPS COLA?
Why No Fizz in the UPS COLA?The UPS contract has a cost of living allowance (COLA), which was played up in selling the contract as the “best ever.” Why then do we never get anything out of this clause? An examination of the details of Article 33 shows why. There are three fine-print facts to know about the clause. First, before the COLA kicks in, the inflation rate has to exceed 3 percent on a...
UPS Hits New Low in Attack on Pregnant Employees
When Mary Plagman's doctor put her on a 25-pound weight restriction because of her pregnancy, UPS management informed her that they had no work available for her. As they have done with many other women in her position, UPS forced her off the job and onto leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).Anticipating the end of her FMLA leave Plagman-Markham planned to go onto disability leave, but now UPS is challenging her ability...
Unite and Conquer: Notes from a UPS Part-Timer
Every day I walk to the time clock to punch in. On the way, I say “hey” to a handful of loaders, sorters, and a few clerks, but rarely a driver. At my shop, solidarity between UPS drivers and part-timers is the biggest and most overlooked issue. Management deserves credit for dividing us. In response, Teamsters must do an even better job of coming together on the shop floor. We may all work at the...
Will the IBT Rise to the Challenge?
The $1.25 billion acquisition of Overnite Transportation by UPS marks a turning point in the transportation industry and for our Teamsters union. The largest employer of Teamsters will soon operate an enormous nonunion freight division. And the Teamsters’ worst nemesis in the freight industry, Overnite, will be financially backed by the most profitable transportation company in the world. UPS-Overnite is the face of the new trucking industry in which all the big players—Yellow-Roadway, FedEx, DHL—are...
Fighting the Overtime Blues
A long hot summer has been even longer and hotter for the thousands of UPS package car drivers who contend with constant and excessive overtime. The short-term impact of this problem on Teamsters is tremendous. Weekday family life is nonexistent. Weekends are for recovery. The long-term effects include more injuries, more accidents and difficulty making it to retirement age. TDU spoke with a number of stewards and business agents about this issue and what can...
Know Your Rights: UPS & Military Leave
UPS management’s compliance with the law protecting workers serving in the military has had its ups and downs. The law is the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) of 1994. It offers a number of protections, such as the mandate that employers continue to provide medical coverage and that they contribute to pension plans for the period of leave. USERRA also says that employers must make employees whole upon their return to work...