March 16, 2006: When the Central States Pension Fund trustees, led by chairman Fred Gegare, made drastic cuts two years ago, Teamsters knew their futures were not as secure as they once assumed. Those close to retirement paid the most attention, and took the lead in the Teamster fightback. These Teamsters thought they were set after nearly 30 years of hard work and couldn’t imagine top Teamster officials joining with the companies in such an attack. But now younger Teamsters are also getting informed and getting involved. Our pension and health and welfare benefits are about the future of our union. Restoring benefits will be key to organizing new members. “I’m 34 with six full-time and ten part-time years in at UPS,” said Chris Janssen from Des Moines Local 90. “There’s no guarantee positive changes are coming down the road. Others with my years of experience are getting discouraged. It’s hard to see having to work another 25 years to get to the full pension. What happened to the ‘25 and out’ that we won in 1997?” Janssen isn’t the only one with these views. Ross Thompson, a UPS package driver in Kansas City Local 41, commented, “I started driving full-time at UPS in 1990 and had already done five years part-time. My goal was to raise my family and retire by age 55. Now it looks like I’m going to be forced to work until I’m 59 if I want to collect on a full pension. “I’m not alone. Thousands of package car drivers and Teamsters in other industries are in the same boat. How are our bodies supposed to take it?” New Rule Can Drive Teamsters Out The Teamster leadership has no plan to restore the pension and medical benefits that have been taken from retirees. Those who built the union are being dumped on. But, as the brothers Janssen and Thompson indicate, this problem is about the future of our union. Central States has put into effect a new “seven percent” rule, which could drive more people out of our pension fund. This rule says that every contract negotiated must have a seven percent increase per year, each year, in pension contributions. A business rep with ongoing bargaining at three companies right now told us, “This is going to take most of our bargaining power away. At the top benefit level, we have to bargain over 40 cents an hour every year into the pension fund. Where will we find enough money to maintain health benefits?” If a contract fails to meet the seven percent test, the Teamsters under that contract will be kicked out of the pension fund. They are given no other option. This is likely to be devastating for affected Teamsters, and will reduce the size of our fund as well. The Teamster pension used to be the gold standard for retirement, and can be once again. But we need leadership that has the will to do it. It’s too easy for big-shot union officials who are drawing two or three salaries and earning multiple pensions to forget what it is like for members who are getting their bodies beat up on the job. This is why TDU members will propose an amendment to the Teamster constitution that would require pension trustees to be held accountable to the membership.

On July 24th, Minnesota unionists and other social justice activists held a day-long celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters Strike.

In the summer of 1934, truck drivers demanding that employers recognize and bargain with their union shut down all freight and delivery traffic in and out of Minneapolis for weeks. “Flying squads” of picketers patrolled the streets, stopping all non-union deliveries.

Business, supported by the local police, cracked down violently. Two strikers were killed, and sixty-seven were wounded, when police opened fire on picketers. But the workers held strong, and the employers were finally forced to recognize and sign a contract with the union.

The 1934 strike made Minneapolis a union town. It was also the start of wide-scale national Teamster freight organizing. The leaders of the Minneapolis strike used their base there to start organizing outward to other cities.

The July 24th anniversary commemoration was held at the location where striking Teamsters resisted attacks by the police 70 years before. The celebration included music and speeches as well as a historical display provided by members of Minnesota TDU.

February 8, 2006: Allied management sent thousands of carhaul Teamsters a letter dated January 31 stating that, unless they are given more concessions from Teamsters, then they may “seek appropriate relief from the bankruptcy court…to set aside an existing collective bargaining agreement and authorize reductions in pay and benefits.” It looks like they are testing the waters to see if they can get concessions from the International Union. We cannot have our national master contract busted in court. If the largest carhaul employer could break the contract using bankruptcy court, then other employers under the master agreement would demand parity, and the downward spiral would only worsen. We cannot allow the new corporate tactic of using bankruptcy court to destroy decades of union struggle to win good contracts and decent family benefits to spread into our union and the trucking industry. Allied’s letter does not mention that Teamsters have already gave in to a two year wage freeze, have been hit with pension accrual cuts, and slapped with the destruction of retiree health care benefits. Carhaulers know the industry problems are real. But the answer is not open-ended concessions with no union plan to protect jobs and job security.

February 8, 2006. Local 249 has submitted a request for strike authorization from the IBT in response to DHL’s unwillingness to comply with a September 2005 grievance decision. Five months have passed since the National Review Committee for the NMFA (Tyson Johnson for the IBT and Jim Roberts for TMI) ordered DHL to pay $90,000 worth of back pay to Teamsters in Pittsburgh for subcontracting violations.

In January 2006 the Eastern Conference panel heard a second grievance and ruled DHL must pay a penalty of over $2,000 for each day the company fails to pay the original $90,000 ruling. They now owe over $200,000. Why won’t DHL comply with the contract and pay up?

The answer is Brad Slawson. Last October International Rep. Slawson, the right-hand man to General Secretary Treasurer Tom Keegel, went behind the back of the affected Teamsters to try to cut a deal with DHL and let the company to pay a measly $16,000. In a January 17, 2006 notarized statement, DHL vice president for Labor Relations, Patricia Ann Burke claims that Slawson approached her with the deal. This was after the Pittsburgh Teamsters had been duly awarded $90,000 for two years of giving away union work. This is the same Brad Slawson who was put in charge of DHL Teamsters for the International Union by James Hoffa.

Local 249 members continue to press for the acknowledgement of their victorious grievance and the money owed. The Eastern Region Joint Area Committee met on January 18, 2006 and found in favor of the Local 249 grievance calling for penalty pay from October 19, 2005 forward. Local 249 has received strike authorization from Joint Council 40. The request has been sent to the International.

It’s time for Hoffa to do right thing. Send Slawson back to Minnesota, and support the Pittsburgh Teamsters who are asking for nothing but what they are entitled to.

February 9, 2006. A high-level official of the Teamster Rail Conference’s Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) announced his resignation amid speculation that he will challenge President Don Hahs for leadership of the BLET. Tom Brennan, the staff counsel for the national division announced he will return to operating a train rather than continue working under the leadership of BLET President Don Hahs. “I do not believe it is possible for me to continue to serve the members’ best interests while working on the Executive Staff supporting [Hahs’] decision,” Brennan wrote in a resignation letter dated February 6. The move follows months of speculation that Brennan will challenge Hahs for the BLET presidency. Brennan vowed to “expose those who are willing to accept carrier demands that will eliminate our craft”—a reference to carrier demands to eliminate the positions of engineer and conductor and instead run trains with a single “transportation employee.” If Hahs were to cave in to such a demand, it would threaten the job security of the 30,000 railroad engineers in the Teamsters, and would widely be seen as a sellout. Brennan fell short of announcing his candidacy but indicated he would “respond later to the many expressions of support and encouragement I have received to pursue elective office. One thing is certain, I will work relentlessly to preserve our craft.” BLET members have launched a joint campaign with members of the conductors’ union to call for a democratic merger of the two organizations. They have formed Railroad Operating Crafts United [ROCU] to push for a united union that would defend both engineers and conductors and be based on membership control. One Member, One Vote in BLET? A number of BLET divisions have endorsed an initiative to adopt direct elections of BLET officers through a system of one member, one vote. The initiative, which is gaining momentum, is close to the threshold of support where the BLET’s bylaws will require Hahs to hold a membership referendum on the issue. These officers are currently elected by delegates to the BLET Convention—just as top Teamster officers were before TDU helped win the right to vote in 1991. Click here: to read Brennans Letter of Resignation

February 28, 2006. On February 27, Public Citizen filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals to review the Hours of Service regulations put into effect by the D.O.T. The suit aims to reverse certain parts of the new regulations including the extension of driving time to 11 hours and the 34-hour restart provision. In July 2004 the same Court struck down the same regulations because the DOT refused to take into account the health of truck drivers. The DOT tried to address the issue but came back with the same regulations in August 2005. Public Citizen is supported in the case by the Teamsters Union, Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways, Parents Against Tired Truckers, and Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. Click here to see the Petition Filed with the Court

March 8, 2006. Freight and carhaul Teamsters will make less this year than last due to wages lost to inflation—despite COLA increases which will take affect next month.

Freight Teamsters will get an extra 10c raise on April 1 because inflation has jumped to 4.1% over the past year, triggering a payout from the cost of living clause in the National Master Freight Agreement. Under the NMFA, a COLA kicks in when inflation exceeds 3.5 percent—so freight Teamsters will get an extra dime or slightly less than 1/2 percent of the wage rate.

The carhaul contract has superior language, so carhaulers will get 21c per hour, or about 1%, on June 1. Carhaulers suffered a two year wage freeze in the present contract, and lost 6% of real wages to inflation, so the 1% increase is more than welcome.

These COLA increases are in addition to the regular wage increases of 45c (2.0%) for freight, and 40c (1.9%) for carhaul. The COLA for freight mileage pay is .25c per mile, and for carhaul it is 1.05c per loaded mile and .525c per running mile.

Even with COLA payout, freight and carhaul Teamsters will lose real wages over the year to inflation. Freight Teamsters will make 33c less this year than last, measured in “real wages”, the economists’ term that takes into account inflation. Carhaulers will make 27c per hour less.

International officers will get a COLA raise on July 1, calculated on a rather different formula, the details of which will be known in May. If inflation for that period is 4.1%, the COLA raise for James Hoffa will be $5.03 per hour, with similar increases for other IBT officials.

February 28, 2006: On February 25th, the 5,000 members of Local 200 elected all seven delegates and two alternates from the Buban/Connell Strong Contracts, Good Pensions Slate, handing a defeat to the slate heavily backed by the Hoffa Campaign and International VP Fred Gegare.

“In a record turn out for a delegate election, the members have sent a strong message,” said Local 200 Secretary Treasuer Tim Buban. They want reform at the national union in Washington. We intend to fight for all members at this year’s Teamster Convention.” Gegare went all out to win the election in Wisconsin’s largest Teamster local, but his Teamsters 4 Teamsters Slate got beat by a 60-40% margin.

In violation of the election Rules, Gegare mailed out a joint council newspaper to all Local 200 members featuring a big attack on TDU, with lies about the Central States Pension Fund. The members of Local 200 opted to elect delegates in support of Teamster reform and Tom Leedham.

The National Review Committee (Tyson Johnson for the IBT and Jim Roberts for TMI) ruled Teamster members covered under NMFA Supplements will no longer have the option of requesting a 3rd doctor’s evaluation in cases involving DOT medical examinations.

This giveback to the employers was tacked onto the end of a decision involving a Harrisburg Local 776 ABF member. This protection has been in place for decades and helps prevent the employers from imposing decisions made by company doctors. Prior to the latest ruling, the decision of the 3rd Doctor was binding.

It’s unclear now how the difference of opinion between a member’s doctor and that delivered by a company doctor will be resolved. Leaving each such case up to the panels is not a solution, especially when a better procedure has been in place for so long.

Confronted by members, Tyson Johnson now claims that he did not sign the decision (even though his signature appears on it) and there are rumblings that it could be overturned.

What is going on at the IBT and in the freight division? Why are long-time provisions being traded away? If the decision is overturned, what will the IBT end up giving the employers in exchange?

Click here to download the decision] (Acrobat Reader required)

February 1, 2006. There was a time when candidates for Convention delegate paid Hoffa to ride his coattails. Hoffa’s campaign would charge his supporters to pose for campaign photos with the General President. But Hoffa’s pension cuts and other failures have shifted the political winds—and sent Hoffa’s associates ducking for cover.

From Detroit to Nashville, from Seattle to Atlanta, some Hoffa delegate candidates never mention their candidate, and pretend that they will go to the Convention “neutral” or “uncommitted”. Some of those who claim they to be undecided are, in fact, on the Hoffa payroll.

Hoffa’s good friend, International Rep. Earl Walker, heads up Hoffa’s home Local 614 in Michigan. But Earl’s delegate campaign literature never mentions Hoffa, or that he will vote to nominate him at the Convention. His literature even copies Leedham’s platform.

Hoffa’s friends in Seattle Local 174 list their ten most important issues for the IBT convention; nowhere on that list do they mention that they will vote to nominate Hoffa. Their lead candidate pretends he is uncommitted, even though it is apparent that the Hoffa campaign is bankrolling his slate, and he joined the Hoffa walkout when Tom Leedham spoke at the 2001 Convention.

If Hoffa’s supporters really believe in their candidate, why are they hiding their identity in so many delegate races?