The vote count figures below are preliminary. Some numbers will be adjusted in the final, official tally.

Vote Totals

May 29, 2013: The IBT has sent out a mailing listing every local officer by name that was at the two-person meeting in Washington, claiming they "unanimously approve" of the contract.

The list includes officers who are urging a No Vote and even lists the officers from Louisville Local 89 whose website includes a long explanation about why members should vote no.

The "unanimous support" lie is especially outrageous at UPS Freight where many local unions are not supporting the first offer.

The truth is a large number of officers abstained on the motion to approve the UPS and UPS Freight contracts until the changes could be carefully reviewed and discussed with members.

If the Hoffa-Hall administration really believed in what they've negotiated, would they really have to pretend that support is "unanimous"?

May 24, 2013: The weak contracts at UPS and UPS Freight affect every Teamster.

After hauling in almost $4.5 billion in profits last year, UPS management has reaped another windfall: contract givebacks.

The weak contract deals affect every Teamster—not just the 250,000 members employed at UPS and UPS Freight.

How can Teamsters who work at struggling employers expect to win good contracts and defend our benfits when the International Union is rolling over and making givebacks at the most profitable transportation company in the world?

The UPS deal will save the company billions in reduced pension and healthcare costs. UP TDUSers were promised they would not have to pay for healthcare. But the contract will move more than 140,000 Teamsters into an inferior health plan and make them pay much more for healthcare.

The contract at UPS Freight introduces nonunion pay and conditions at the company that was supposed to help rebuild Teamster standards in freight.

Teamster Power Sidelined

Contract negotiations started on a high note. When UPS demanded that Teamsters pay for healthcare, members turned out by the thousands at union rallies to chant, "No way, we won't pay!"

Instead of continuing to unite and mobilize, the IBT kept members on the sidelines and in the dark with an information brownout.

Members Respond

Angry Teamsters at both UPS and UPS Freight are organizing a Vote No movement in many areas.

The UPS Freight contract is headed down in many big locals. UPS Teamsters—especially in the areas affected by the healthcare cuts—are passing out leaflets, wearing Vote No T-shirts, and have launched a "Vote No on UPS Contract" Facebook page.

The fight against contract concessions shows the spirit, creativity and energy of the Teamster rank and file. What happens now is up to the members who are leading the charge.

Hoffa and Hall want to push through the contracts, and for the Vote No rebels to get discouraged, cynical and inactive. They want members on the sidelines at contract time and all the time.

TDU stands for the opposite. We are a national grassroots movement of Teamsters organizing Teamsters.

We can win better contracts, defend our benefits and build a stronger union—but only if we get off the sidelines and work together. Information and organization equal power.

May 24, 2013: Teamsters around the country report the proposed UPS Freight contract fails to measure up. It doesn't even measure up to the first contract—one they found sorely lacking over the last five years.

The wage increase is $2.50 over five years—$1.50 less than the previous contract. The health insurance plan is modified and members are still expected to pay a premium. The current pension plan is frozen and a new version has been proposed. All this from a company that has cleared billions over the past five years.

Mike Simberger and John Wisniewski at the St. Louis Local 600 Contract meeting.

A big issue is subcontracting that was killing jobs and undermining our union. For this, the deal proposes Line Haul Driver language that creates a lower tier wage rate and benefits package. It introduces nonunion pay and conditions to a highly profitable union company.

Paul Boegel, a Local 657 driver in Austin, Texas summed it up, "The proposed contract doesn't add up to enough to vote for it. I plan to vote NO and am organizing in Texas and via the internet to get UPS Freight Teamsters to turn it down. Help me make that happen in your terminal."

The officers and stewards at Local 89, Louisville, Kentucky agreed. They recommended a no vote to their members at UPS Freight.

If you want to help organize for a better contract visit www.UPSFreightTalk.org, send us a message or call TDU: 313-842-2600.

Stay informed. Learn what this contract means for UPS Freight members. Download contract bulletins. Have your say.

Our Terminal's Voting NO

"The young pups on our board were showing an 'I don't care' attitude. After we got some info on the contract, they started asking more and more questions. We stewards and others are educating them as to the negative effects this proposal will have.

"We're definitely leaning majority NO in our terminal."

Greg Boyles, Alternate City Steward, Local 100, Cincinnati

Send Hall Back to the Table

"We're not being bamboozled this go around on the contract. The new line haul driver language offers nonunion rates and is bound to have a big impact on our dock workers, current road drivers, and our brothers and sisters in feeders at UPS Parcel.

"Lots of drivers showed up at our local meeting with 'Vote NO' T-shirts. We need to send Ken Hall back to the bargaining table to get us a contract worthy of the Teamster tradition. UPS Freight is not J.B. Hunt."

Todd Fenton, Local 600, St. Louis

Not Even Close

"This contract is not even close to where it needs to be. How can we as a union expect to organize other companies if we bargain contracts that take us backwards. This nation's wages continue to decline. Strong unions are our only option to reverse this trend. Unions must demand stronger contracts to revitalize organizing efforts. This fight has begun and we must toe the line as brothers and sisters."

Greg Myers, Local 957, Dayton, Ohio

May 24, 2013: For the first time in 49 years, there is no national master freight agreement.

There is an agreement with YRCW, and tentative agreements going to members at ABF and UPS Freight. Separate agreements for some 40,000 freight Teamsters, and none could possibly be considered a model contract.

Hoffa came into office on the slogan "The Hoffa name means power." His father's big accomplishment was the NMFA. Now he's been busy at his PR events while his assistants have allowed the NMFA to be dismantled.

Does our union have a future in trucking? We believe the answer is a definite yes. Those 40,000 Teamsters in freight, along with brothers and sisters in tankhaul, carhaul, private carriage and other trucking fields are the core to rebuilding Teamster power.

Teamster power is not about a famous name. It's about organizing in the distribution industry. That will take a leadership with the will and the plan to make it happen.

Help Make This Happen at Your Terminal

As members get a chance to see the tentative agreement at UPS Freight, they are saying it fails to measure up.  

It does not even measure up to the first contract on some critical issues, including wages.

Paul Boegel, a Local 657 driver in Austin Texas, summed it up: "The proposed contract doesn't add up to enough to vote for it. I plan to vote NO and am organizing in Texas and via the internet to get UPS Freight Teamsters to turn it down. Help me make that happen in your terminal."

UPS Freight members in Louisville Local 89 met last weekend, and then Local 89's Executive Board recommended rejection, because it fails to meet the needs of the members. That is the feedback we are hearing from other union meetings.

You can download a leaflet for distribution in your area. Spread the word. You can make a difference. 

Click here to download the proposed tentative agreement. Answers to FAQs on the contract voting process are available here.

In your working life at UPS or UPS Freight, you may get five or six chances to vote on a contract, and improve your working conditions and benefits. This is one of them – take advantage of it!

Who Votes? All union members on the UPS or UPS Freight seniority list will be mailed a ballot at the end of May on the contract. At UPS Freight, there is just one national vote. At UPS Package, all Teamsters get at least two, and in many cases three separate votes: on the national contract, on your regional or local supplement, and on a rider (for some areas).

• In "right to work" states, nonmembers do not get to vote.
• The vote is by majority rule, among those voting. If you don't vote, you don't count.
• If you don't get a ballot, you can request a duplicate.
• It is a secret ballot; your ballot goes into a secret ballot envelope, then into a pre-paid return envelope.

Who counts the votes? The count will have an independent agent in charge, hired by the IBT. Due to past legal action, observers (members) not beholden to the Hoffa administration will be present. The unopened ballots will first be sorted by Local Union (there is a local union notation on the envelope), and the count will be then done separately for each local.   The count will begin on or about June 20 for UPS Package.

What if the contract is voted down? The IBT and UPS will return to bargaining, to negotiate a contact acceptable to members. This is not a strike vote; it is a vote on accepting or rejecting the contract, by majority rule.

What if supplements or riders are voted down? Then the supplemental negotiating committee and UPS will return to bargaining to negotiate a more acceptable supplement or rider. The national contract cannot be implemented during this period.

Do you have more questions? Click here to send TDU a message or call us at 313-842-2600.

How does TDU win rights and protect our Right to Vote?

• TDU fought for and won majority rule on contracts: previously it took 2/3 to reject a contract.
• TDU fought for and won the right to a separate vote on all supplements and riders, prepared the language and worked with locals to get it adopted in the IBT Constitution. Previously there was no such right.
• TDU fought for and won the right to a "fair and informed vote" and observer rights.
• When former Teamster President Jackie Presser tried to violate these rights, TDU went to federal court for an injunction which resulted in the UPS contract votes being tossed out, and the vote redone fairly.

TDU will keep working to win and protect your rights!

We are stronger together. Support our movement to build a stronger Teamsters union by joining TDU.

UPDATED March 28, 2013: Negotiations have been suspended until April 15. The company has proposed moving all UPS Package workers from company to union health and welfare plans, and the union expects a similar proposal from the company for UPS Freight.

Hall stated that the company and union are "light years apart" on the economic proposals. The company is offering a $500 lump sum bonus for full time for each year of the contract and a $250 bonus per year for casuals instead of any wage increase for the next four years! We need real wage increases—if inflation is 3% we need 75¢ per year just to avoid going backwards.

Hall said the union would not agree to paying "one cent more" on health coverage beyond what Teamsters are paying now.

Hall reported that subcontracting must be addressed before any agreement can be accepted. He stated that the goal was to have all road drivers back to work and working a full week. Hall remarked, "We have to make sure we end subcontracting with this contract." Amen.

Subcontracting means giving away Teamster jobs and should be a deal-breaker for the contract.

Hall said progress had been made in a number of other areas but did not report on them. He said there were tentative agreements on language for: bumping rights; more full-time jobs for casuals; protections for disqualified drivers; lay off recall rights; transfer rights; expansion of rights for military service; and cooperation on attaining CDL License.

Members will want to examine the language on these critical issues to see if it meets our needs, or should be renegotiated.

Bargaining continues this week in Florida.

Click here to send us a comment or to sign up for updates on the UPS Freight Contract.

What will happen when a tentative agreement is reached? Click here for our article, 5 Things Teamsters Can Do When the Contract Comes Down.

March 22, 2013: The International Union is holding two conference calls on Sat., March 23 to update shop stewards on contract negotiations at UPS and UPS Freight.

UPS Conference Call

Date: Sat. March 23

Time: 12:00 Noon (Eastern)

Call-In Number: 888-673-8921, code 111566

Click here to download the UPS conference call announcement.

UPS Freight Conference Call

Date: Sat. March 23

Time: 1:00 pm (Eastern)

Call-In Number: 1-800-762-4758

Click here to download the UPS Freight conference call announcement.

March 15, 2013: Contract time is the time for all Teamsters to think about where we stand and our future.

UPS has made record profits even in the recession. UPS's freight and cartage division has done quite well and continues to grow in importance to the overall corporation.

It's an ideal time for UPS Freight Teamsters to make gains in our job protections and benefits.

A proposed tentative agreement may be delivered to Teamster members for a vote soon. We need to be prepared to evaluate the contract on the key issues.

We have a Right to Vote by secret ballot, and a right to study the contract and discuss it at meetings and amongst ourselves. This is our power.

We do not have to accept the first offer: the contract doesn't expire until July 31. UPS wants an early ratification. That's a bargaining chip that we can use. We can always send the first offer back for further negotiation and a clear message of what areas of the contract need to be changed to get a yes vote.

The current contract was our first and has many areas that need to be addressed. Below are a few key aspects that many members have highlighted.

Click here to download the UPS Freight Contract Scorecard.