“We are hopeful that UPS long history as a company with Teamster representation will create new opportunities for Overnite workers to achieve their goals in the workplace.” —James Hoffa, May 16 IBT statement on UPS-Overnite “The Teamsters will never rest until workplace justice is a reality for our brave brothers and sisters at Overnite.” —James Hoffa, August 2001 Teamster Magazine Which is it, Mr. Hoffa: Hoping management will do the right thing, or promising a...

UPS today is not the same company many higher seniority Teamsters went to work for: First air freight, then global reach, technology, logistics. The biggest single change is about to happen: UPS’ conversion to a full-service freight carrier. In the links below, we examine the consequences of this change, and what we can do to turn it to our advantage. If our union fails to take that step, we could pay a big price. Consider...

On October 1, 1998, “UPS told me to get out of here and don’t come back,” relates preloader Paul Stimpson. The wheels of justice grind slowly, but after seven years the courts have ordered UPS to put Stimpson back to work. The exact details remain to be worked out, but Stimpson will get very considerable back pay. On May 18, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, “We find substantial evidence that Stimpson was terminated...

The May 16 acquisition of Overnite by UPS means that our biggest nonunion competition now has the deepest pockets in the freight industry. UPS has the means to undercut union carriers to increase Overnite’s market share and you can bet they plan to do it. FedEx has turned its own LTL carrier into a $3 billion player. To compete with FedEx, UPS intends to double Overnite’s size.Unless we act decisively, Overnite’s increased market share will...

Teamster Local 82 members in Boston will vote in March on a series of reforms that amount to a membership “Bill of Rights.” The reforms were submitted as amendments to the Local 82 bylaws. Dozens of members signed petitions in favor of bylaws reforms that would establish the following new rights for Local 82 members: • The right to elect shop stewards • The right to elect rank-and-file representatives to contract negotiating committees • The...

Gate Gourmet workers from around the country have had their wages, benefits and job security decimated by a horrible arbitration decision. Some of them are fighting back. The decision cuts wages by 6.5 percent and reduces sick leave, holidays, vacations, and eliminates union health care and pension plans. Teamsters who previously had union benefits are forced into a company health plan that costs $363 per month for families. For many workers who don’t make much...

April 5, 2005: In March, the International Union unilaterally merged Local 556 into Local 839 in Pasco, Washington. The merger came after Tyson Foods won a disputed decertification election against Local 556. The NLRB is investigating numerous unfair labor practice charges including the company’s threat to close the plant if workers voted to remain Teamsters. Local 556 leaders opened merger talks to discuss what steps Local 839 would take to win the fight for union...

April 6, 2006: Corporate executive pay and perks have gotten more out of line than ever, as detailed in a lengthy report in the April 9 New York Times. "Off to the races again, leaving many behind" the feature shows that average CEO pay went from 33 times average workers' pay in 1980 to 104 times in 2004, with many CEOs of large corporations far higher than that. The AFL-CIO is asking unionists to do...

President Hoffa says we left the AFL-CIO to “change to win.” But I’m concerned about what the move is going to mean for union solidarity and the old principle that there’s strength in unity. We’re very active in labor solidarity here in Washington, DC, including street heat actions, rallies, disaster relief and solidarity with strikes and contract campaigns. And when Local 96 has asked for support from the AFL-CIO, they have always been there for...

January 28, 2005: “If we do not accept [the contract deal], the company is telling us they will shut down. I believe only the members can respond to this threat by voting on this latest offer.”  That’s how Larry McDonald, president of Toronto Local 938, recommended a new six-year contract to over 1,000 UPS Teamsters in Ontario. Teamster officials repeated this threat elsewhere to sell a deal that was actually worse than what the company...