August 25, 2008: Carhaulers rejected the contract because of the massive givebacks.

For one group of Teamsters, the biggest giveback was the proposed loss of their entire supplemental agreement.

The Michigan Office Supplement has covered union dispatchers and office workers for decades. In the proposed deal that was rejected, the supplement was completely eliminated.

This steals the affected Teamsters’ right to vote on their own supplement covering their area of work.

We demand the Michigan Office Supplement be restored!

Solidarity Means Teamsters Stick Together

We don’t stand by and watch our brothers and sisters get stabbed in the back.

The Michigan Office Teamsters are a small group, but they’re good Teamsters. They’ve been on the picket lines standing up for drivers. They went to court to win the right to have observers at our contract vote—and won.

We will stand with them to defend their rights.

The same goes for driveaway Teamsters. Their supplemental agreement was given away in the last contract. So they were shafted in the proposed contract, until we voted it down.

Fortunately Western carhaulers, another relatively small group, do have a separate supplement, which was rejected. In Article 53 of the proposed Western supplement, the companies would have been allowed to open new nonunion terminals in the West. Or perhaps they would be nice enough to let the union have the dues, in exchange for a cut rate white paper-contract. Article 59 in the West allows them to continue “new business” concessions indefinitely.

Solidarity means we stick together. In the next contract proposal, the union needs to restore the Michigan Office Supplement and remove the concessions from the West and from driveaway.

What do you think? Click here to send your comments and questions to the TDU Carhaul Committee.

Help spread the word. Click here to order No Givebacks stickers.