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 that the carrier may go under unless they get them.

We expect Allied and all carriers will comply and pay the 40 cents, which is only a two-percent raise (after three years) and a one-percent increase in overall labor costs.

The poll was so company-oriented that several Teamsters told us they were shocked that it came from the union. Rob Hackett, an Allied driver out of Moraine, Ohio, Local 957, said, “After I hung up I started thinking about it. They seemed pretty company-oriented. They sort of put us on the spot over the pay raise. I wondered if it was really legit and done by the union.”

The poll also asked Teamsters to rate these individuals on a scale from one to five: James Hoffa, retiring Carhaul Director Doc Conder, and their BA. The International election is coming up in 2006.

Since our dues paid for the poll, shouldn’t the results be made available to the members?

Instead of using our dues to soften up members, our union leaders should have a plan to save unionized carhaul, including taking on the manufacturers, who are squeezing the unionized carriers too hard.
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