Hoffa: Big Givebacks for Employers this Holiday

December 5, 2007: Employers are celebrating the holidays early this year, as Hoffa gives up major Teamster standards in some of our most important national master agreements.

UPS management is sure to have a very happy holiday, having won all three of the major givebacks they wanted: withdrawal from the Central States Pension Fund, no new full-time jobs, and an early deal. Industry experts at Traffic World magazine called the new contract “a major victory” for UPS.

UPS isn’t the only employer getting big gifts from our union this season.

At PTS, Carhaul Director Fred Zuckerman has told billionaire investor Ron Burkle he can cut Teamster salaries by 17.5 percent. PTS Teamsters won’t even get a vote on the wage cut.

And at DHL, Hoffa’s assistant Brad Slawson wants to give the company part-timers in the new national contract.

Using Our Strength

Many rank-and-file Teamsters are standing up and saying No to givebacks.

Rank-and-file carhaulers and DHL Teamsters are getting organized to beat back concessions and to defend our national contracts. Carhaulers are organizing against the concessions, and are joining TDU’s network. DHL Teamsters are building a rank-and-file network, with their own website, to win a good contract.

Freight Teamsters are building a new network, Freight2008, to push for a strong national freight contract and to hold the line against the takeover of Teamster pensions.

UPS Teamsters voted down three major supplements. In doing so they saved 25-and-out in New York and won improvements in all of them. Members are going to keep building the Make UPS Deliver network to enforce the agreement and have real power in the future.

These contract battles show that employers have found a Teamsters president ready to be their lap dog. Teamster members—through TDU—are organizing a movement to get ourselves educated and united to build real Teamster power.