September 11, 2009: YRC is saving $40 million per month by not paying into any Teamster pension fund on its 35,000 Teamster employees. This concession is aimed at keeping YRC afloat, and its hard-working drivers, dockhands, mechanics and office workers on the job. But that same saving for YRC means a $500 million annual deficit in payments to Teamster pension funds. Some, like the Western Conference Fund, can absorb the loss because of a good...

September 11, 2009: Baltimore pension trustees have made drastic cuts to early retirement benefits for freight and carhaul Teamsters. Now many are facing more years on the job than they ever expected. On Aug. 4., the Local 557 Pension Fund announced drastic cuts for Teamsters taking early retirement after Sept. 4. (The Teamsters are members of Local 355, but they kept their own pension fund after their locals merged.) Before the cuts, members with 30...

August 3, 2009: Employer demands for pay cuts and for employees to pay part of health premiums are pretty common these days, but we don’t expect them from the top officers of our union. But James Hoffa and IBT secretary treasurer Tom Keegel are demanding such concessions – and more – from the employees of the International Union. On July 31, Hoffa-Keegel used a new tactic: they sent dozens of letters informing employees that they...