April 22, 2006. Many Teamsters express concern when asked for their reaction to the International Union’s recent statements about early contract talks with UPS. Broken promises, the benefit cuts, the lack of contract enforcement—these and other concerns are front and center for members. And if UPS has agreed to the talks, as they most certainly have if the IBT has floated the idea publicly,what is in it for them? Whatever else they have up their...

Waste industry giants have declared a nationwide war on Teamster health benefits. Waste Management, the world’s largest waste corporation, is trying to shift the cost of healthcare onto employees and force Teamsters into inferior company medical plans. Other waste companies are following suit. Members of Seattle Local 174 are showing how Teamsters can fight back with solidarity and strategic contract campaigns. As Convoy goes to press, 600 sanitation Teamsters have reached tentative agreements with two...

Local 82 Teamsters in Boston overwhelmingly voted to approve a series of bylaws amendments to give members a stronger voice in the local. More than 140 members turned out to the local union meeting on March 26 and voted by huge margins in favor of the reforms—an impressive turnout given that the local only has 650 members. The bylaws changes establish sweeping new rights for Local 82 members, including: · The right to elect shop...

January 28, 2005: More people are working more hours than ever before in the U.S. The drive to press more production out of fewer workers is putting a squeeze on workers and their families. Teamsters are no exception. Ask the family of a freight road driver, a UPS package car driver, or a grocery warehouse selector—nearly every Teamster jurisdiction has its own excessive overtime horror story. Teamsters have consistently rated excessive work as one of...

January 28, 2005:Teamsters concerned about the direction of our union are letting officials know it at the ballot box. That’s the finding of a TDU analysis of Teamster local union elections in 2004. TDU analyzed the results of a large number of local union elections, with over 100,000 total members. In many of these elections, old guard officials (often the incumbents) lost. Many other officers barely survived strong challenges from rank and file slates who...

January 28, 2005:Only 10% of UPS members responding to a survey said they felt as good or better about their jobs today as they did before the current contract. Over 56% said that conditions are worse today at UPS than they were in 2002—not exactly a clean bill of health for UPS or the IBT in the wake of what was called the “best contract ever.” Two years into the current UPS contract, TDU conducted...

April 22, 2006: Delegate elections continue as Convoy goes to press, but one key outcome has already been decided. Tom Leedham will have the necessary votes to be nominated at the 2006 Teamster Convention. “Teamsters will have a choice in the 2006 election thanks to the thousands of members who ran for delegate and supported delegate campaigns,” Leedham said. Delegates who have pledged to nominate the Tom Leedham Slate come from every region and jurisdiction,...

April 22, 2006: A slate of working Teamsters swept the delegate race in Memphis Local 667, defeating Hoffa running mate and International Union Trustee Henry Perry. Hoffa aggressively backed his running mate, endorsing him in a glossy campaign mailer that was sent to every Local 667 member. But Hoffa’s support proved to be the kiss of death. Three of the four members of the losing slate are Hoffa appointees. “Teamsters here in Memphis don’t want...

April 22, 2006: The United Teamsters Against Hoffa Slate swept all six positions in the convention delegate race in Pontiac, Mich. Local 614—the home local of General President James Hoffa. Hoffa hand-picked Local 614 and transferred his membership there because he considered it safe territory. But Teamsters have turned against Hoffa in his adopted home local. “It’s time for Jimmy to get out of there. We need a union man running our International, not a...

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. “Wal-Mart is hurting the Teamsters and all of organized labor. When our local officials invest thousands of dollars into Wal-Mart, it sends a mixed message to the membership."Frank HalsteadRalphs, Local 572Los AngelesMany members of Local 572 who work in the grocery...