Teamster Perks or Teamster Power?

Hoffa and Ken Hall have spent much of this year telling Teamsters to take concessions.

How do you think they're doing?

A lot of Teamsters have had to tighten their belts over the past few years. Hundreds of thousands have just been told by James Hoffa and Ken Hall that concessions in healthcare or pensions or wages are necessary.

But one group of Teamsters has not felt any belt-tightening at all: James Hoffa, Ken Hall and their appointees.

Forty-one Teamster officials made over $200,000 in salary last year, and 146 made over $150,000—more than any other time in Teamster history. 

These figures are part of the $150,000 Club Report, a comprehensive study of Teamster finances by the Teamster Rank and File Education and Legal Defense Foundation (TRF). 

The report provides nonpartisan information to Teamster members about how our dues money is being used.

Hoffa pulled down $367,864 last year, including a special "housing allowance" of $60,000. The Teamster Constitution provides a limit of $225,000 for the General President, but also includes a generous cost-of-living clause which Hoffa always makes use of. 

As you look over the list, you will see many officials draw multiple salaries—137 officials do, over 100 of them on the International's payroll. Not only does this cost our union millions, it serves to create a loyal patronage army for Hoffa and Hall. 

General President Ron Carey eliminated almost all multiple salaries. Hoffa initially promised to the same, but his train left that platform the minute he got in office.

These salary figures do not tell the whole story. International officials—the same ones who just told members to take healthcare cuts—get free healthcare for life. They are also in a special, lucrative pension plan reserved only for International officials and staff. Hoffa will get a lump sum of over $1 million from that special fund.

Teamster Money to Build Teamster Power

Many Teamster officials work hard and they deserve to be compensated for the long hours. But when top officers are telling members they need to accept concessions because of tough times, those same officers should lead by example.

Our whole union has been hit hard. Many locals have had to cut back on organizing or representation. When Hoffa raised dues in 2002, he promised that the extra money would be "a nickel an hour for Teamster power."

Teamster power should take priority over Teamster perks. But the International has cut organizing. Organizers have been laid off. Over the past year, the big organizing priority of the IBT has been to raid the Transport Workers Union and International Association of Machinists at American Airlines and US Air. Those drives went up in smoke this past summer.

Our union reported 1.25 million members on their LM-2 form as of Jan. 1 this year, down more than 150,000 over the past four years. 

Teamster resources should go first and foremost to building Teamster power.

Do you agree? If so, contact Teamsters for a Democratic Union, the movement of Teamsters working to make it all happen.

Download the $150,000 Club Report.

Download TDU's Annual Teamster Salary Report. This longer report includes all officials who made over $120,000 in salary.

Click here to download a history of TDU's $150,000 Club report.

Click here to get your Local's financial report.

They Live Off Our Dues

"They tell us we have to sacrifice our wages and pensions to keep our jobs while they live off our dues with their bloated salaries, benefits and secure retirement packages."

Todd Glessner, Holland
Local 957, Dayton

High on the Hog

"My principal officer makes four to ten times more than the members he represents. Too many officials are out of touch with members who struggle to make ends meet. Teamster officials are living high on the hog."

Frank Halstead, Ralphs
Local 572, Los Angeles

The Grievance Meeting:
How to Present a Grievance to Management

November 7, 2013: The first stages of filing a grievance can be the most important, no matter what kind of grievance procedure your contract contains. This is the point at which information is gathered and arguments are tested. It is the time when membership involvement and pressure can make the most difference. And this is also the point at which mistakes can be avoided.

This article discusses how to present your grievance to management. The timing and kind of meeting you have will depend on your contract. This will also likely govern who in management you will be dealing with. But the skills used around presenting grievances are universal.

While geared to stewards, this fact sheet should also be useful for any member who has to meet with management over a grievance.

Preparation Checklist

You will want to have your ducks in a row well before you go into the office with management. Here are some of the things to consider:

• Have you documented your case? Grievances are often won or lost before you get in the office. You've got to prepare your arguments and back them up.

• Have you made an evidence list, including names of witnesses?

• Have you gotten statements in writing from witnesses?

• Have you or the union made a formal information request, in writing?

• Have you gotten management's side of the story? What are some of their arguments? What evidence do they have?

• What are the weak points, if any, in your case? Don't wait for management to point them out. Be prepared.

Road Map for Presenting a Case

Review the issues, facts and arguments you think will be most helpful to your case.

Problems. What are the main problems that the grievance is trying to address? In what order will you present these problems?

• Facts. Who are your witnesses? What documents do you have? Are there pictures or diagrams that would be helpful?

• Chronology. Write out the dates of events, in order, and of documents that relate to the case.

• Arguments. Write them out. Put them in the order you will want to present them.

• Remedies. Be prepared to discuss and respond to proposed remedies to resolve the grievance.

Common Problems and Surprises

• Changing stories. A witness tells the story as you have heard it—then adds something or tells another part of the story that you have never heard. What can you do? Call for a caucus (a private meeting among just the union people). The time out will give you a chance to regroup.

• Agreeing with management on certain points—or suddenly accepting an inferior offer to settle the grievance. Stay away from agreeing to anything management says, unless you have caucused and decided what kind of settlement would be acceptable.

• The steward or union representative will not stand up to management. Ask for a caucus and talk to them privately to discuss the problem and get on the same page.

• Management presents new evidence or claims to have evidence but won't present it. File information requests where possible to avoid surprises. If you're caught off guard by new evidence, then take a break to caucus with your BA and member to discuss moving forward.

Tips for Grievance Meetings

Set Union Ground Rules
A good steward or business agent should agree to some ground rules. A common one is: never contradict what another union person says or agree to a management proposal without stopping for a caucus.

Don't Let Management Dominate the Meeting
The union and management are on equal footing in a grievance meeting. This applies to the shop steward under the Equality Principle. Don't let management dominate the meeting, interrupt or bully the witness or grievant.

Use Meetings to Get Information
Part of your job in a hearing is to find out what management is up to—and what their arguments are. This is especially important with grievances that may end up at the panel or in arbitration.

Who Goes First
In disciplinary meetings, management goes first. They are the prosecution and it's up to them to prove their case. Make them state their complete case and present all their evidence. Ask questions, including: is that your complete case?

Get Agreements In Writing
You may not do this for every little grievance, but definitely do it with discipline cases and contract interpretation issues. If management refuses to sign-off on an agreement, write your own understanding of the terms and give or send it to them.

Take Control
Your goal should be to control the tone, direction and outcome of a grievance meeting. Here are some basic suggestions:

• Ask questions. One strategy is to get management talking and keep them talking. Force them to explain actions. Take note of lies or discrepancies.

• Take your time. Set the pace. Management likely considers grievance meetings a waste of time. Take the time needed to address everything.

• Don't lose your temper. Being aggressive and firm is good. But do not let management make you lose control when you don’t want to.

• Use anger strategically. Stewards have the right to go head to head with management and argue aggressively. Use anger strategically but not because you've lost your cool.

• Read out loud. If the contract is helpful, make management read the contract language out loud or read it to them.

• Take notes. Someone should be prepared to take written notes. Initial meetings are often used to find out where management stands, what evidence they have and so on. Write down key management statements. After the meeting, take a minute to jot down anything you may have missed. Make a note of the date and time and who was present.

Know your rights on the job when it comes to talking union, wearing union-related gear (including Vote No t-shirts) and passing out information at work.

Federal law, the National Labor Relations Act, gives union members broad rights to discuss union issues, wear union-related t-shirts and stickers, and pass out information at work.

Here are answers to Frequently Asked Questions that Teamsters at UPS and UPS Freight have asked TDU during the contract vote.  But this same information applies to all Teamsters.

If you have a question about your union rights or if management is interfering with your rights, contact TDU.

Am I allowed to pass out leaflets and contract information at work?

You have the right to pass out union information, including Vote No leaflets and the Teamster Voice newspaper, as long as you do it in non-work areas at non-work times.

Non-work areas include the parking lots, break rooms, and locker rooms. Non-work times are before and after work or during a break, including paid breaks.

This protection applies to all information on union issues, including information from TDU, newspaper articles or home-made leaflets. Official union literature is not the only information that is protected.

Can I distribute contract information at the time clock or near the belt?

You have the right to distribute information near the time clock or your belt if everyone is off the clock and if workers routinely gather near the time clock or belt when they are off the clock to have coffee, talk, etc.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), at its highest level, has upheld this right at UPS, in cases won by TDU. (See for example UPS and David Dunning.)

Can management forbid me from telling workers to "Vote No" on the contract?

No. It is against the law for management to prohibit speech because it doesn't like the union content of the speech.

In the same way that employees are allowed to say "happy birthday" or talk about last night's baseball game, they are allowed to say, "Vote No."

Am I allowed to wear a Vote No shirt on the job?

If you are an inside worker, you absolutely have the right to wear a Vote No shirt on the job—or to wear a sticker on your shirt. UPS can prohibit t-shirts that are threatening, racist, sexist, etc. But management cannot ban you from wearing a shirt or sticker because they don’t like the message.

If you are a driver, you can wear a Vote No shirt while you are off the clock, for example if you are leafleting in the parking lot. But you have to conform with the company’s appearance policy when you are on the job.

My manager said that my "End Part-Time Poverty at UPS" t-shirt is insulting to the company and it misuses the UPS logo.

Too bad for your manager. The NLRB has consistently ruled against employers that try to ban t-shirts that are offensive. For example, the NLRB ruled in favor of the right of union members to wear "Prisoner of AT$T" shirts during a contract fight there.

Management cannot ban a t-shirt unless it is threatening, discriminatory or likely to cause fear among employees. The only thing scary in this instance is how low part-time wages are at UPS!

Federal law also allows for the use of the UPS logo or any other corporate logo for the purpose of parody. 

Join TDUers in Providence, other Teamster members, stewards and officers, as well as labor educators and experts, for a day of training and education.

Workshops include:

• Legal Rights of Union Members
• Using Grievances to Protect Members from Unfair Discipline
• Winning a Better Contract at Rhode Island Hospital
• Uniting Labor and the Community for Workers' Rights

Guest Speakers: Sandy Pope, President Teamsters Local 805; Ken Paff, National Organizer of TDU; and Julian Gonzalez, Labor Attorney.

Southern New England Labor Education Conference

Saturday, May 4
10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
First Unitarian Church
1 Benevolent St.
Providence, RI

First Unitarian Church is located on the corner of Benefit St. and Benevolent St. in Providence, RI. Click here to see a map.

Questions? Want to register? Send us a message or RSVP, or call Matt Taibi at 401-935-1663.

Download a leaflet and registration form for the event.

April 2, 2013: Financial reports for the year 2012 are now available for most Teamster locals, joint councils, conferences and the International union. 

Federal law requires these reports to be filed by March 31, and most Teamster locals have complied. A guide on how to download and print a report is available here. Or you can call TDU at (313) 842-2600.

The International union 323-page financial report is available here.

Right away you will see that the Teamsters Union unfortunately lost 52,000 members in 2012, falling from 1,309,690 to 1,257,765 as organizing has lagged.

The reports detail income, expenditures, salaries, payments to vendors and more.

Oftentimes, this information leads to more questions. For example, Los Angeles Local 630 lists a receipt of $75,452 for “Crime Bond Insurance Settlement.” Crime bond insurance provides coverage for money and property stolen by local officials. Members of Local 630 will surely want to ask for details on that matter. They may also want to ask if former local leader Paul Kenny has paid any of the $168,168 he was fined by the Independent Review Board.

These LM-2 financial reports are required of all unions in the US, except those composed only of public workers.

If you would like help interpreting or analyzing a union financial report, contact Teamsters for a Democratic Union at 313-842-2600 or tdu [at] tdu.org

TDU will publish an analysis of Teamster finances and the $150,000 Club later in the summer.

March 15, 2013: Many members think that union meetings are just a place you go to hear long reports or to listen to beefs that you don't understand by members who work at other companies. And sadly, many union meetings are not much more than that.

Local unions can and should make meetings informative and a forum for ideas and questions. Expert speakers and workshops can be alternated with union business and contract issues.

But even when union meetings seem to be almost designed to keep members away, rank and filers can turn them in something positive. Here are some tips.

Keep it Positive

There's nothing wrong with getting angry when members are getting the short end of the stick. But if you are trying to build unity and support in your local, you need to have some positive proposals.

For example, members in some locals, fed up with the lack of organizing, have proposed that their locals dedicate a percentage of the budget to organizing the unorganized.

Publicize and Mobilize

Getting members to union meetings can be a challenge.

But members are more likely to attend a particular meeting if you help them see why their attendance at that meeting would make a difference. For example, a few years ago TDUers mobilized members to attend in a number of locals in the Midwest and South about unfair pension reemployment rules. As a result, a number of local officers started to take a stand. And, we won a rules change.

So you need a way to tell members why attending a specific meeting is important. Leaflets can help. So will volunteers to spread leaflets and talk it up.  Phone lists, texts, and e-mail lists are also effective ways to turn people out to meetings.

Pick and Choose Your Battles

We can all think of dozens of changes that are needed to improve our locals or our working conditions. But there is a danger in taking on every issue that comes along. First, you can't win them all. Second, you run the risk of being seen by your fellow members as all over the map.

So, when possible, pick a single issue that is widely understood and an issue that directly affects a lot of people and/or can attract wide support.

Members in Local 251 have proposed three bylaws changes, including one to require elected rank and filers on all contract negotiating committees. That's an example of a positive proposal which can unite members to build a stronger union.

Work as a Group

While one person working alone can often make a difference, the best way to be successful at union meetings is to work with a team or a small group.

Ideally you can assign each person a job at the meeting. One person can be lined up to make a motion. Another can hand out flyers explaining the motion. A third person can be ready to appeal a ruling by the meeting chair, if they try to shut you down.

The more people you get to do something, the more support you are likely to get. This is because you are showing people right off the bat that a number of people care about the issue or proposal.

Here are some jobs that your people can take on:

• Who will work on the flyer about the issue?
• Who will distribute the flyer?
• Who will speak on the issue or line members up to speak?
• Who will call or text members to get them to attend?
• Who will make the motion or proposal?
• Who will second or support it?

Won't They Just Shut us Down or Use the Rules Against Us?

Maybe. The chair of a meeting can do many things to use the rules against you.

For example, once when members of New York Local 854 organized a group to read proposed changes to the local bylaws, the local officers went to their supporters at the meeting and asked them to leave—so that there would no longer be a quorum. They hastily adjourned the meeting.

The chair may try to just rule you out of order when you want to speak or make a motion. There are a few ways to counter this:

Raise the issue under "new business." This is the point in the agenda where other issues can be raised.

If the chair says the issue can't be brought up at this time, ask, "When exactly can this issue be brought up on the agenda?"

Prepare supporters in advance to demand that you be given the chance to speak. Sometimes that pressure will work. If not, members can even formally appeal the decision of the chair by saying, "I appeal the decision of the chair." Such an appeal is not debatable, does not need a second and is passed or defeated by a simple majority vote. (This is part of Robert's Rules of Order and is contained in most local union bylaws).

The best way to overcome tricks by the chair is to have several members ready to speak up ("let her speak") and vote to overrule the chair.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Don't have the same people always speak. Ask others to help out.
• Have people prepared to speak. You may want to practice in advance. Talk it over.
• Don't make it personal. Stick to the issues.
• Don't speak too much. It's not how much you say, but how you say it and how you organize to back it up. Keep it short and to the point.

Use Meetings to Find Allies

Speaking up at union meetings is important. So is listening. Make a point of talking to other members who raise issues at a meeting. And be sure to get names and phone numbers. Many TDU members have found important allies by listening to other members and following up with them.

Follow Up by Informing Others

What do you say when a member asks, "What happened at the union meeting?" The most common response is, "If you wanted to know, you should have been there."

That won't help get other members involved in building a stronger union.

You're better off answering the question. Don't miss the opportunity to talk about issues that are important to you and draw other members into participating in the fight for a stronger union.

Interested in using union meetings to advance members' rights? Contact TDU to discuss your specific situation. Click here to send us a message.

February 1, 2013: Using your union's legal right to acquire information from the employer can help you defend your rights and win grievances and arbitrations.

This right is established by the National Labor Relations Act.

Unfortunately, many members don't know about this right, and many union representatives don't use it unless members specifically ask them to.

This article outlines some of the basics of the right to information and how to use it. You will need more detailed information to effectively put this into practice. You can order two books from TDU that outline your rights under the grievance procedure in more detail.

When can you request information?

• The union may request information to:

• monitor the employer's compliance with the contract.

• investigate whether a grievance exists.

• prepare for a grievance meeting.

• decide whether to drop or prioritize a grievance.

• prepare for an arbitration hearing.

What can you request?

The obligation of an employer to provide information is extremely broad. It includes relevant documents, data, and facts. Information is considered relevant if it might be useful to the union or could lead to the identification of useful information.

How specific does the request have to be?

Information requests can be quite general. For example, employers must respond to broad inquiries such as:

• "Please supply all documents or records which refer to or reflect the factors causing you to reject this grievance."

• "Please supply all factual bases for the company's decision."

• "Please provide all documents, reports, and other evidence utilized in making the decision to discipline the employee."

Management may complain that such information requests are "fishing expeditions," but this language has been upheld by the NLRB, which has ordered employers to comply.

These kinds of requests can be extremely useful in nailing down management's position so that they cannot shift their argument later in the grievance procedure or at arbitration.

Other information requests can be very specific. The union is entitled to a wide variety of specific documents. See examples in the box accompanying this article.

What if management refuses to provide the information?

Refusals to provide information or unreasonable delays violate Section 8(a)(5) of the National Labor Relations Act. The union can file an unfair labor practices charge with the NLRB if the company refuses to cooperate with an information request.

Who can request information from the employer?

Only shop stewards and union officers can request information from the company. Although shop stewards can request information, if the employer is intent on blocking the request or stalling, the backing of the business agent can be crucial to winning an NLRB charge. So whenever possible, it is best to get your business agent on board with an information request.

What can you do with a timid business agent?

Many business agents aggressively use information requests as a tactic to win grievances. If you are worried that your business agent might not be eager to request the information, ask them to request information from the company and explain specifically in writing what information you would like them to request.

What Information You Can Request and When to Request It

The union is entitled to examine a wide variety of records to investigate a grievance or to prepare for bargaining.

Documents. The union is entitled to examine a wide variety of records to investigate a grievance or to prepare for bargaining. Examples include: accident reports, air quality studies, attendance records, bargaining agreements for other units or facilities, bargaining notes, bonus records, contracts with customers, suppliers and contractors, correspondence, customer lists, disciplinary records, employer manuals, guidelines and policies, evaluations, interview notes, investigative reports, job descriptions, memos, schedules, time cards, videotapes, wage and salary records.

Data. Employers must provide the union with lists, statistics, and other relevant data even if management must spend hours or longer putting it together. You can request data on prior disciplinary actions, promotional patterns, and overtime assignments. Employers are not excused from producing relevant data because of the size of the union's request, although the employer can bargain on reimbursement for its costs. Requests for data going back five years have been enforced by the NLRB.

Facts. Employers must answer pertinent factual inquiries. For a misconduct case, ask for the names and addresses of witnesses and descriptions of their testimony. For an arbitration hearing, ask for the names of persons the employer intends to call to the stand.

Disciplinary grievance. When grieving disciplinary action, always request a copy of the grievant's personnel file. If unequal punishment is an argument in the case, ask for the names of other employees who have committed the same offense and the penalties imposed.

Contract interpretation grievance. When a grievance concerns disputed contract language, request the employers bargaining notes from the session during which the clause was negotiated, the dates and contents of any union statements upon which the employer is relying, and descriptions of any incident which the employer says supports its position.

TDU can advise you on what information you should request to help you strengthen your grievance. Contact us for more information.

The first "$100,000 Club" in 1976. (Copies of this historic book are available from TDU.)

November 26, 2012: It started in the mid-1970s, with an organization called PROD, the Professional Drivers Council. PROD collected hundreds of LM-2 financial reports on Teamster locals, joint councils and the International and began to analyze them, tracing all the multiple salaries, family connections, and more.

The "$100,000 Club" was born.

In 1979 PROD and TDU joined hands in one organization. TDU has published "The Club" annually ever since.

A look at the history shows how this research has changed Teamster financial priorities for the better.

By the mid-1980s, top Teamster officials were pulling down salaries of up to $609,000. Indexing this to the cost of living, that would be $1.28 million in today's dollars!

Teamster President Jackie Presser makes an entrance at the 1986 IBT Convention.

It was obscene. Along with that, they had private jet planes to ferry them to resorts.

TDU was exposing all of it with hard facts, and members were mad.

Then, on March 14, 1989, we won the Right to Vote for International officers. The plan adopted by the court tracked what TDU had proposed to settle the racketeering case filed by the Justice Department against top Teamster officials. The settlement came the day before the trial was to start.

TDU went to work, hard and fast. "Wanted" posters were issued, detailing top salaries of the incumbent members of the General Executive Board, such as Arnie Weinmeister, who pulled down $502,276 in 1989.

These posters of high-living Weldon Mathis forced him to withdraw from the 1991 IBT election.

Weinmeister then withdrew from the election. So did Weldon Mathis, General Secretary Treasurer of the IBT.  TDU's "club" report took on new power.

Members were not going to vote for people pulling down these salaries. So the insiders picked R. V. Durham to run for president, an officer from North Carolina who had not yet reached those inflated salaries.

But TDU was on the move. TDU, along with Ron Carey, who was running for General President, proposed to limit salaries, especially multiple salaries. The Carey campaign grew.

So, Durham tried to head off our momentum. He proposed a watered-down version of the TDU proposal for the IBT Constitution, and it was passed at the 1991 IBT Convention. It set the General President's salary at $250,000 (plus a cost of living bump for every year an incumbent stays in office) and a ceiling: no International official could make multiple salaries totaling more than the General President's salary.

The corporate jets were sold. And Carey, after winning the election, sold the limousine they rode around in.

Ron Carey then made other reforms to change the union's priorities. He closed down the "area conferences" which paid 63 multiple salaries.  A fresh wind was blowing.

But TDU continued to publish the "$100,000 Club" every year, without fail. Ron Carey was listed, just like everyone else. No salary has ever been left-out or altered.

The Club changed with the times and inflation. At first, the "$100,000" included expenses and allowances. But later, the line was change to $100,000 salary. Later still, it was changed to $150,000.

The Club makes a big difference in how Teamster dues money is spent. But still, too much of it goes to multiple salaries and to cronies, when it could be better spent on organizing, winning better contracts, and educating Teamsters.

TDU provides this information for members, because an informed membership makes a stronger union. It is nonpartisan. It is not an attack on those listed; many are hard working officers.

Click here to download this story as a leaflet.

Click here to download the 2012 $150,000 Club Report.

Click here to download TDU's Annual Teamster Salary Report. This longer report includes all officials who made over $120,000 in salary.

"TDU gives Teamsters information they can't get anywhere else. Knowledge is power, and TDU gives members their power. That's why Hoffa and certain officials hate TDU."

Phil Richards, Unified Grocers
Local 630, Los Angeles

Teamster Money Should Build Teamster Power

In a tough economy, many Teamsters are taking concessions. But top Teamster officials are riding high.

In the worst recession of our lives, many Teamsters are being hit with concessions, pension cuts and layoffs.

Our union has been hit hard, too. The Teamsters have lost 100,000 members in just three years according to union reports filed with the Department of Labor.

But one group of Teamsters has not felt any belt-tightening at all: James Hoffa, International officials and their appointees.

Thirty-six Teamster officials made over $200,000 in salary last year, and 135 made over $150,000–more than any other time in Teamster history.

These figures are part of the $150,000 Club Report, a comprehensive study of Teamster finances by the Teamster Rank and File Education and Legal Defense Foundation (TRF).

The report provides nonpartisan information to Teamster members about where our dues money is going.

Key findings in this year’s report include:

• The highest paid Teamster is Patrick Flynn of Chicago Local 710. He resigned as an International vice president, because the IBT constitution prohibits a VP from having a higher aggregate salary than the General President. Flynn pulled down $465,002 in salary from his local union.

• Hoffa paid himself $372,489 in 2011, including a lucrative "housing allowance." When Hoffa first ran for Teamster president, he promised to "cut n cap" salaries at $150,000.

• 129 officials on the International payroll made multiple union salaries–some taking home three Teamster salaries, one each from the International, a Joint Council and a Union.

Teamster Organizing

In 2002 the Hoffa administration called a special convention to raise dues to 2.5 hours pay. The dues hike was supposedly for two purposes: to establish a strong strike fund and to fund organizing.

Hoffa's slogan in promoting the dues hike was "A nickel an hour for Teamster power." But few members are feeling the power.

Take organizing. While nonunion competition is on the rise, the Hoffa administration has actually shrunk the organizing department.

Today, there are just 40 full-time IBT organizers and about 40 project organizers, for a total of 80. A few years ago, that number was 140.

If everyone in the $150,000 club took a 10% cut, and that money was put into organizing, it would boost the organizing budget by $2.5 million per year, putting dozens of more organizers in the field.

The Bottom Line

Many Teamster officials work hard and they deserve to be compensated for their long hours. But when top officers are telling members to accept concessions because of the economy, those same officers should lead by example.

Teamster resources should go first and foremost to building Teamster power.

Do you agree? If so, contact Teamsters for a Democratic Union, the movement of Teamsters working to make it all happen.

Download the $150,000 Club Report.

Download TDU's Annual Teamster Salary Report. This longer report includes all officials who made over $120,000 in salary.

Click here to download a history of TDU's $150,000 Club report.

Click here to get your Local's financial report.

"Starting pay for UPS part-timers is just $8.50 an hour and hasn’t gone up in 15 years. With contract negotiations going on right now, we need to make them remember the 250,000 UPSers who pay their salaries, including 125,000 part-timers. Show us the money!"

Dave Fischer, UPS
Local 413, Columbus, Ohio

"Freight Teamsters like me took a 15 percent wage cut and saw our pensions cut. Times are lean. It's time to cut the fat at the International Union and put our money into organizing the nonunion competition and rebuilding our power in trucking before it's too late."

Tim Pagel, YRC
Local 988, Houston

December 14, 2012: Bylaws are the constitution of your local union. They define your rights and responsibilities as a local member, they say how elections will be run, and they set the powers for your officers.

Your local union bylaws can be amended, to make improvements. But you have to know how to go about it.

In many locals, members can only introduce new bylaws amendments in January.
The process of amending local bylaws can vary from local to local. The exact procedure is laid out in your bylaws.

Members must present the proposed changes at a union meeting. After members present a proposed change, it must be read at three consecutive meetings, and then there will be a vote. That’s the time to turn out supporters.

What it Takes to Win

A bylaws campaign can be effective tool for winning positive reforms and education of members. But, like any organizing campaign, a bylaws reform campaign requires good planning. Successful campaigns have usually:

1. Picked an issue that matters most to members and focused on it
2. Spread the word with leaflets and conversations and support petitions
3. Involved supporters in the whole process

Getting the Language Right

Since bylaws are legally binding documents, it's important to get the language in your proposal right. In some cases, General President Hoffa has vetoed reforms approved by local union members because of language technicalities.

TDU can help on this front. We have copies of bylaws language that has been approved by the IBT, and lawyers who can review your bylaws proposals before you run into a legal challenge.

Contact TDU at 313-842-2600 or click here to send us a message.

Click here to read about Teamsters Local 251 and their bylaws campaign to win stronger representation and better contracts.