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 incredible turnout given that the local only has 650 members. The overwhelming Yes vote came over the strong opposition of Secretary-Treasurer John Perry. It was the second rank-and-file...

After five years of record profits at UPS, Teamsters know they deserve a fair share of the company's success. President Hoffa has repeatedly promised "the best contract in Teamster history. "So why did Hoffa's negotiating committee settle the Central Region contract supplement, the largest in the UPS contract, without any significant gains and even with some give-backs?! The union put fifty (50) proposals on the bargaining table in the Central Region, but came back empty...

On May 2, when a mercury spill turned up on the main sort belt in the UPS Sharonville Building near Cincinnati, management failed to respond properly. UPS did not secure the area, isolate the spill, inform employees, nor evacuate workers from the spill area. “I always thought the idea was ‘safety first’,” says Local 100 full time steward Sam Bucalo. Management appeared more concerned about keeping stewards from investigating the situation than about resolving the...

UPS Teamsters are familiar with the image of managers scurrying to cover logos on UPS trucks to prevent the public and media knowing that a UPS vehicle was involved in an accident. Could UPS be applying the same secrecy to incidents involving hazardous materials in an effort to skirt federal reporting requirements? An investigation indicates that UPS in 2004 failed to properly report a number of incidents, including one involving a serious fire: On June...

UPS purchase of nonunion Overnite Transportation for $1.25 billion marks a new era of industry consolidation and poses a grave threat to UPS and freight Teamsters, and to the security of our pensions. But the purchase also presents the best opportunity in a long time for the Teamsters to reassert ourselves as a major force in the transportation industry. We need to seize that opportunity. The New Trucking Industry The UPS-Overnite combination is the face...

“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...