May 9, 2007: The Hoffa administration threatened just enough Allied Teamsters to narrowly pass concessions in April.

There is a lesson in that vote for all of us. In the locals where carhaulers distributed TDU information and talked to fellow members, the concessions were voted down. We needed more TDU members, more outreach, and a stronger network.

We can’t wait till it’s too late: many Allied Teamsters got in touch with us after the vote.

Concessions May Spread
Other carriers—Jack Cooper and PMT, Cassens, and Active—are now pressing to get concessions like the 17 percent reduction given to Allied.

Yucaipa will do the same with their PTS operation. Industry analysts expect Yucaipa to position PTS and Allied for an eventual merger to achieve greater density and efficiency.

Carhaulers are asking how Allied can be part of the same master contract, while making 17 percent less. At the same time, we need an effective organizing program.

If the Hoffa administration wants to lead a campaign to save our contract, Teamsters, including TDU members, will get behind them in that effort. But we can’t hold our breath waiting for that.

Time To Organize
We need to organize now to defend the contract, and let the carriers know we will not approve any concessions.

We need to stand united to say that as soon as Allied makes a profit, it will be time to demand the concessionary pact be reopened, to bring Allied Teamsters back up to scale.

We need to demand that retiree health benefits be restored, and a plan to restore our 25-and-out and 30-and-out benefits our union won in the past.

Carhaulers in Teamsters for a Democratic Union have a proud history and believe together we can build a strong Teamster future.

We invite you to contact us to find out how you can be part of making it happen.

May 9, 2007: Two shareholders who own 337,000 shares of Allied Holdings filed a class action suit charging that Yucaipa owner Ron Burkle conspired in 2006 with the leadership of the Teamsters to take control of Allied.

The suit, filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, alleges that in May 2006 Burkle made his move, after his business partner, former President Bill Clinton, helped get Hoffa on board.

The Teamster leadership then arranged for a side-deal of concessions to Yucaipa, and pressured Allied to go along, because the concessions would only be offered if Yucaipa got control of Allied.

The deal was kept quiet until after the November 2006 Teamster election to avoid a “problematic time for Hoffa to have to announce and explain to the rank-and-file membership of the IBT any concessions or givebacks” the lawsuit alleges.

In April, Yucaipa and Allied bought-off another potential competing bidder for the company with $525,000 cash and millions paid for stock.

How much of that comes out of money promised to be used for new equipment is anybody’s guess.

That settlement deal also contains a provision that no one, including attorneys in the case, may give any information to Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU). Apparently Yucaipa considers TDU to be a threat.

The suit will not benefit working Teamsters; it will not delay Yucaipa in taking control of Allied, or the 17 percent concessions which will go into effect around June 1.

The lawsuit and the Wall Street Journal report on it are available here.

May 9, 2007: Allied Holdings Inc. said Friday that its board of directors has voted to terminate Chief Executive Hugh Sawyer, as required by the company's proposed Chapter 11 reorganization plan.

May 2, 2007: A major shareholder in Allied Automotive Group has filed a class-action suit charging that Yucaipa and the Hoffa administration entered into a secret conspiracy in May of 2006. The shareholders allege that the IBT concealed the Teamster concessions until after the November 2006 IBT election. The suit was filed on April 23 under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

It is highly doubtful that the suit, which seeks at least $150 million in damages from Yucaipa and the IBT for 2,200 Allied shareholders, will have any impact on the expected approval in bankruptcy court of the Yucaipa takeover, with 17 percent wage concessions, of Allied. It is hard to see that Teamsters have anything to gain from the action, but it provides an inside look at deals made behind the backs of Teamster carhaulers.

The suit alleges that “Yucaipa colluded, combined and conspired with the IBT…” in about May 2006, when “Hoffa personally brought the potential Allied deal to Ronald Burkle, the founder and head of Yucaipa, at the urging of former President William Clinton, a personal friend of Burkle…and a profit participant in at least some of its affiliated funds.”

The suit further alleges that Hoffa and Burkle delayed arranging a deal because of the 2006 IBT election. “The period from May to November 2006 would have been a particularly inconvenient and problematic time for Hoffa to have to announce and explain to the rank-and-file membership of the IBT any concessions or givebacks…As a result, the IBT improperly sought to and did use Yucaipa to defer and effectively hide from the IBT membership the likelihood of and the need for ultimate concessions to Allied.”

Yucaipa was the big winner, the suit argues, because Hoffa made the Allied concessions available only to one bidder for Allied, Yucaipa.

Click here for the Wall Street Journal article on this development.

Click here for a copy of the complaint filed in federal court. (Large File)

May 2, 2007: Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle has stirred up controversy with his effort to take control of a big chunk of the nation's car-hauling business, with some help from former President Clinton.

Click here to read the full story in the Wall Street Journal.

April 28, 2007: Shareholders of Allied Holdings Inc. claim that billionaire Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. improperly conspired with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union to gain control of Allied in Bankruptcy Court.

Read the complete story in the LA Times.

April 20, 2007: On May 9, a hearing in federal bankruptcy court in Georgia could mark a new era for Teamster carhaulers. The Yucaipa investment company is poised to take control of some 65 percent of the carhaul industry in North America, and operate a good bit of it with wages 17 percent below union scale. The days of monopoly management are upon us.

Yucaipa is controlled by Ron Burkle, a billionaire investor that the Hoffa administration has trumpeted as our savior. There is even a tribute to Burkle posted on the IBT website that praises him as a “friend to unions”. This is probably the one and only Billionaire Tribute on any labor website anywhere.

No billionaire employer is going to rebuild Teamster Power in carhaul. That’s our job. We need a union plan to address the crisis in carhaul. The Carhaul Division should call a working conference, not just of officers, but stewards, to discuss the way forward. It’s time to unite for the future.

Bargaining for the new carhaul contract will start by the end of this year. Other carriers—Jack Cooper and PMT, Cassens, and Active—are now pressing to get concessions like the 17 percent reduction given to Allied. Burkle will do the same with his PTS operation. Industry analysts expect him to position PTS and Allied for eventual merger to achieve greater density and efficiency. Carhaulers are asking how Allied can be part of the same master contract, while making 17 percent less. More than ever, we need an effective organizing program.

If the Hoffa administration wants to lead a campaign to save our contract, Teamsters, including TDU members, will get behind them in that effort. But we can’t hold our breath waiting for that.

Carhaulers in TDU will do what is needed to make it happen. But we need more input from concerned Teamsters. Carhaulers in Teamsters for a Democratic Union have a proud history and believe together we can build a strong Teamster future. We invite you to contact us to find out how you can be part of making it happen.

Click here to see how each local voted on Allied concessions

Click here for a report on the concession vote

April 6, 2007: Associated Press: Allied Holdings scored two victories this week, winning bankruptcy court approval of its Chapter 11 plan-disclosure statement and its request to enter into a $15 million financing arrangement.

Read the full story at Forbes.com.

April 4, 2007: When Teamster members at Allied got their ballots to vote on proposed concessions, they were told "There is Only ONE Plan to Save Allied."

But another investment, Sopris, has released a proposed term sheet to buy Allied.

Local 604 Secretary Treasurer John Thyer has written a letter to Hoffa demanding that he send a written retraction to every member.

Click here to read Local 604's letter.