As the U.S. heads toward what some economists consider “full employment,” trucking companies tracked by the Labor Department hired an additional 2,600 workers in February, pushing the monthly JOC.com Trucking Employment Index reading up to 99.9.

United Parcel Service Inc. on Tuesday said Chief Executive David P. Abney’s total compensation for 2014 more than doubled, including a base salary increase he received in September when he was promoted to the helm of the package-delivery giant.

Mr. Abney, who had been the company’s chief operating officer, succeeded Scott Davis, who retired as CEO but stayed on as chairman. The move signaled the U.S. shipping giant’s growing focus on its international operations.

Click here to read more at The Wall Street Journal.

The Tamarkin union members overwhelmingly voted in favor of Giant Eagle’s severance package Wednesday.

The vote was 129 to 4. Teamsters Local 377, which represents the workers, has been told by the company with passage of the package the plant employees will be able to stay through June.

Click here to read more at The Vindicator.

Starting next month, Target will raise its minimum wage to $9 an hour. Sound familiar? That's because Target’s decision comes just one month after its competitor Walmart said it would raise its starting wage to $9 and eventually $10 per hour. T.J. Maxx and Marshalls have also announced a new $9 an hour base. These minimum wage increases reflect an improving economy and the impact of widespread protest through campaigns like the fast food strikes and OUR Walmart. 

The business press, unsurprisingly, chalks up the hikes to an improving economy. The Wall Street Journal writes, "Target’s move is the latest example of a tightening labor market and rising competition for lower paid workers amid declining joblessness and signs that consumer confidence is returning." At 5.5%, the country's unemployment rate is at its lowest in six years. Earlier this year, a review of several studies found that higher wages led to more productivity and lower turnover rates, which can then lead to higher profits for companies. 

Click here to read more at In These Times.

Since Whitley Wyatt retired in 2000 after 33 years as a trucker, he’s collected a pension of $3,300 a month.

Now, the 71-year-old says as much as $2,000 of his monthly check is at risk because of legislation passed by Congress last year that is meant to help underfunded multiemployer pension plans bolster their finances by giving them a way to cut benefits for some retirees.

Click here to read more at The Columbus Dispatch.

YRC Worldwide Inc.'s top executives received large increases in total compensation in 2014, according to the company's annual proxy statement.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Overland Park-based less-than-truckload carrier (Nasdaq: YRCW) filed its annual proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing disclosed the amount paid to YRC's top executives and directors in 2014.

Click here to read more.

Wisconsin is now the 25th state to adopt a so-called “right-to-work” law, which allows workers to benefit from collective bargaining without having to pay for it.

It joins Michigan and Indiana, which both adopted right to work in 2012. Similar initiatives, or variants, are spreading to Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and West Virginia—and the National Right to Work Committee and the American Legislative Exchange Council probably have a well-developed list of additional targets.

Click here to read more at Labor Notes.

The late February snow fell lazily on several thousand Wisconsin union members as they gathered on the steps of the capitol building in Madison to protest what picket signs denounced as “the war on workers.” The scene was a smaller replay of the protest four years ago when tens of thousands assembled to oppose Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s Act 10. Despite a broad, fervent uprising, that act passed and stripped public employees of their collective bargaining rights.

This time, even the protesters saw little hope of defeating the latest attack by Walker and Republican legislators. The deceptively named “right-to-work” law, aimed primarily at private-sector unions, prohibits labor contracts from requiring all employees to pay their share of union dues. While the Right denounces such payments as “forced unionism,” labor says that it’s only fair for all workers to chip in, because they all benefit from the union’s work.

Click here to read more.

UPS is abandoning the slogan "We Love Logistics" in favor of "United Problem Solvers" in a new advertising campaign to highlight its other services.

The message, according to UPS, communicates the company’s problem-solving ability for everyone from small businesses to the largest global firms.

"Our employees solve customer problems by using the best mix of proven analysis methods, innovative technologies and the company's extensive global transportation network. We not only move goods through all aspects of the supply chain, we also help our customers approach their business problems to uncover new top line and bottom line opportunities," Alan Gershenhorn, executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said in a statement.

“We're transforming UPS from a logistics provider to a full-service partner that offers world-class expertise and capabilities that help customers increase revenue, improve cash flow, minimize lead time and reduce cost," he said.

The campaign is debuting in media surrounding the NCAA basketball tournament. The company is the official logistics partner of the NCAA.

The ads will then appear in international markets including, China, Germany, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

"The new United Problem Solvers campaign illustrates how our more than 400,000 employees approach problems with expertise and intense commitment to help customers," Gershenhorn said. "Our essential message is to invite customers to challenge us with their business problems. We are confident that we can offer insights that will help them be more successful."

UPS ranks No. 1 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.

Four thousand union activists rallied in Charleston, West Virginia, March 7 against “right to work.” (Click here to see more photos from the rally.)

Local and national labor leaders also spoke against other threats on the agenda of the state’s Republican-controlled legislature: charter schools, mine safety rollbacks, and changes to the prevailing-wage law.

Click here to read more at Labor Notes.