On Jan 8 a federal judge sided with the Union Pacific railroad to block a strike to protect rail employees’ health and safety. The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the Teamsters moved toward the job action under the Railroad Safety Act, to demand adequate Covid-19 protections for the workers who build and maintain the tracks and right of way.

Both slates competing in the IBT election conducted petition efforts to accredit additional candidates by the December 15 deadline. OZ-Teamsters United successfully accredited a new candidate. The Vairma slate failed to muster enough support for two of their three new candidates. 

The International Union has cancelled plans for holding the IBT Convention in Las Vegas on June 21-25, due to the restrictions on large gatherings during the COVID pandemic.  The Convention will be held on-line, during the same week.

The substance of the IBT Convention remains the same.  It will be a nominating convention and it will be a constitutional convention where amendments to the IBT Constitution will be voted on.

When the Philadelphia Inquirer published a front-page story featuring the richest and most powerful business leaders in the city whining about workers' rights being unfair to corporations, Teamster leaders punched back with a scorching Op-Ed that speaks for all of us.

Christmas arrived early for Teamsters at Rhode Island’s only Budweiser distributorship. McLaughlin & Moran (M&M) announced today they would scrap a deal to sell their company to a competitor that demanded that workers take pay cuts of $7 an hour and give up their pension. 

A federal court has ruled in favor of reformers in New York Local 804 who were stripped of their Teamster membership. The ruling paves the way to reverse Hoffa-backed political retaliation against his opponents.

Every year, workers at the Postal Service and UPS expect to work long hours between Thanksgiving and Christmas. “This is like our Super Bowl,” said Kimberly Karol, president of the Iowa Postal Workers (APWU). “Employees really do rally together.”

But this year has been like no other. Workers were still catching their breath from last year’s holiday peak when the pandemic struck and online ordering ratcheted up. It was like Christmas all over again—and it never stopped.

Click here to read the story at LaborNotes.org 

The leadership of the United Auto Workers (UAW) has reached a proposed settlement with the US Justice Department to head off a racketeering lawsuit. The settlement will provide for a vote of all 400,000 union members to decide whether they want direct election of top leaders, or to continue with the present system of convention delegates choosing the national leadership.

The IBT will soon have a new independent officer in charge of investigating internal union corruption. Robert D. Luskin has been selected for the next five-year term as Independent Investigations Officer (IIO), replacing Joseph di Genova, a long-time Hoffa appointee.

UPDATED DECEMBER 10,2020: The seven-year campaign for pension protection by Teamsters, retirees and our allies has reached an urgent stage. There is a desperate need for pension relief, either in the stimulus bill being worked up, or in the first 100 days of the Biden presidency.