JAMES P. HOFFA, General President • C. THOMAS KEEGEL, General Secretary-Treasurer MARCH 2010

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“America and the TeamstersUnion face a jobs crisis. Whatmany people are not aware

of is that the jobs crisis is connected tothe strains placed on pension funds bythe Wall Street financial collapse,” saidJim Hoffa, Teamsters General President.“So to create jobs, we also mustprotect pensions.”

That’s exactly what the TeamstersUnion has set out to do.

The Teamsters Union has devotedthousands of hours and held dozensof meetings with Congress, as well as theWhite House, to solve the problems thatmulti-employer pension plans are facing.An important step forward was takenwith the introduction of H.R. 3936,the Pomeroy-Tiberi “Preserve Benefitsand Jobs Act.” The bill will help providethe funding relief necessary to restorepension plans.

Many Teamsters are in multi-employer plans. The plans and theemployers who contribute to them arefacing unreasonable financial pressures

that threaten the retirement securityof tens of thousands of workers. TheTeamsters’ grassroots effort to pass the“Preserve Benefits and Jobs” act recentlyreceived kudos from the two membersof Congress who sponsored the bill.

Hoffa introduced Rep. Earl Pomeroy(D-N.D.) and Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio) tothe General Executive Board at a recentmeeting in Washington. The congressmenknew that the Teamsters had begun tomobilize on behalf of their bill toprovide relief for pension plans. Already,Teamsters sent more than 7,000 e-mailsto their representatives supporting thelegislation.

“I was thrilled to death to see whatyou unveiled yesterday, your grassrootseffort,”Tiberi told the board.“You guyshave a lot more influence in this town thanI do.We need to get this passed yesterday.”

“Mobilizing the grassroots—Ican’t tell you how important that is,”Pomeroy said.

Tiberi told the board that he is theson of Italian immigrants. His dad, a

DRIVEisapoliticalcommitteethatfurtherslabor-relatedgoals,includingmakingcontributionstosupportcandidatesforlocal,stateandfederaloffices.Individualsmayrefusetojoinorcontributewithoutfearofreprisal.

ick Middleton, a Teamster for 42 years who

has worked his way up the ranks from truck

driver to Secretary-Treasurer of Local 572

in Carson, California, was recently appointed as

Western RegionVice President. He was sworn in

alongside International Vice President Al Mixon,

which was covered in the last issue of the Leader.

“Throughout his distinguished Teamster career,

Rick has shown exceptional leadership,”Hoffa said.

“He has spearheaded our extremely successful

campaign to organize school bus and other transit

drivers nationwide and I know he will bring that

determination to his new position.”

Middleton said one of his priorities will be to

expand organizing in all areas, and to continue in

his role as International Chairman of the National

School Bus and Transit Bus Driver campaign.

“This has renewed my faith that if you put your

feet to the fire and work hard, get involved, you can

make a difference,”Middleton said.“I am honored

to receive this appointment.”

Middleton joined the Teamsters in 1968 when

he was a redi-mix driver. He became a business

representative for Local 848 in 1972 and worked his

way up to President, a title he held for 15 years. In

2000, Hoffa appointed Middleton to act as Trustee

for Local 572. Middleton was elected Secretary-

Treasurer of Local 572 in 2002.

R

Rick MiddletonAppointed Western

Region Vice President42-Year Teamster Says

Organizing in All Areas a Priority

Our country is experiencing a crisis in retirement securitythat affects everyone and jeopardizes our nation’s economicrecovery. Congress must act quickly on legislation that

provides the relief necessary to restore pension plans.Right now, many pension funds don’t have enough money

long-term to provide the secure retirement promised to millionsof Americans. That’s why an estimated 40 percent of wage earnersrecently said they plan to delay retirement.

As Teamster leaders, it is our duty to both call on Congressto do something about this and to inform our members onhow this affects us and what we’re doing on their behalf. Inaddition to informing rank-and-file Teamsters about thepension issue, we can also get them involved in other ways.Members are encouraged to visit the union’s new web page atwww.teamster.org/content/pension where they can accesspension tools, information and an online petition.

Millions of union members depend on defined benefitpension plans for a secure retirement security. The TeamstersUnion is committed to mobilizing an aggressive grassroots

campaign to pass pension reform legislation to save our pensionsand save our jobs.

We need to work together to avert the crisis in retirementsecurity. Together we can prosper. Divided we will fail.

PENSIONS AND JOBS

A MESSAGE FROM GENERAL PRESIDENT JAMES P. HOFFA

“Save Jobs, Protect Pensions” continued onto page 3

Save Jobs,Protect Pensions

Teamsters Launch Grassroots Effort

T eamster locals with workers employed by the American Red Crossplayed a key role in establishing a multi-union coalition to addressongoing issues at the nation’s largest supplier of blood products.

The Coalition, which represents 3,000 workers nationwide, is comprisedof members from the Teamsters, AFSCME, OPEIU, SEIU and theSteelworkers.

Since 2003, the Red Cross has been fined $21 million by the FederalFood and Drug Administration for significant violations of safety regula-tions designed to protect the public. Former Red Cross executives haveadmitted that these problems are related to high turnover among employ-ees, many of whom are paid little better than minimum wage.

“We formed the Red Cross Workers Committee for Blood Safety tooversee donor and product safety and to advocate for all Red Cross employ-ees,” said Al Mixon, International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer ofLocal 507 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Between 1996 and 2007, Red Cross was charged with 212 unfair laborpractice violations by the National Labor Relations Board. Moreover, theFederal Mediation and Conciliation Service intervened 152 times in labordisputes involving 10 different unions at numerous locations across thecountry.

“The public tends to be misled by the role Red Cross plays in disasterrelief,” said Michael Filler, Director of the Public Services Division. “As thetruth about donor and product safety becomes known through coordinatedactions of our Workers Committee, we hope that transparency will makeRed Cross leadership change its regressive labor tactics. Our long-term goalis to make Red Cross respect its workers by agreeing to fair contracts withreasonable wages and benefits. It’s time for this employer to recognize thelife-saving work performed by our members day in and day out.”

Check the Public Services Division web site atwww.teamster.org/content/public-services for updates on the

launching of a new site dedicated to Red Cross worker issues.

March 2010 | Teamster Leader | 32 | Teamster Leader | March 2010

Save Jobs,Protect Pensionscontinued from page 1

steelworker, lost his job and his pension whenhe was in high school.

“I come at this from a very personal stand-point,” Tiberi said. He called the bill “somethingthat will help so many Americans—not justkeep their pensions but keep their jobs.”

Pomeroy, aformer stateinsurance com-missioner, saidthe bill would fixproblems createdby previous legis-lation: ERISAand the PensionProtection Act.ERISA, passedin 1974, didn’tanticipate the industry consolidation thatwould ultimately result in too-few employerscontributing to multi-employer plans. ThePension Protection Act of 2006 created fundingrequirements that are too conservative.

The Preserve Benefits and Jobs Act providestemporary funding relief for pensions thatsuffered losses in the stock market collapseof 2008. It will give employers more time toput money into pensions in order to meetgovernment requirements.

The union’s effort to protect pensionsis not confined to the halls of Congress.Members, locals and Joint Councils across thecountry are also involved, and everyone iswelcome to visit the union’s new web page atwww.teamster.org/content/pension to accessthe tools and information they need—includingan online petition—to mobilize in the fight forpension relief.

“I urge our locals to get out there and worktoward pension relief,”Hoffa said. “This effort isonly the most recent in our ongoing activationof our membership as we pursue our priority ofprotecting and expanding American jobs andguaranteeing retirement security for Americanworking families.”

“I urge our

locals to get out there

and work toward

pension relief.”

– JIM HOFFATeamsters General President

ocal unions played an instrumental role in the recentContinental Airlines organizing campaign in whichnearly 8,000 workers joined the Teamsters.

The fleet service workers voted in January and earlyFebruary to join the Teamsters. The unit of more than 7,600 workershas had no union representation. There have been five organizingdrives during the past decade, all involving other unions. But this timethe workers turned to the Teamsters, who have represented mechanicsat Continental for more than 12 years.

The International Union’s Organizing Department coordinatedthe campaign, sending organizers to airports across the country. Localunion leaders stepped up to the plate, providing staff, other assistanceand resources.

Resource Sharing“Local 19 opened its doors to the Organizing Department, and theorganizers had free rein of our resources,” said Robert Rasch, Presidentof Local 19 in Houston, Continental’s largest hub. By doing this, itsaved time and money and allowed organizers to spend more timereaching workers.

Also, Local 19’s entire executive board took part in a weekenddoor-knocking blitz, where they joined others to visit hundreds ofworkers’ homes.

“It showed the workers that they have a local union here withleaders and members of the local who worked hard and want themto be members of Local 19,” Rasch said.

Since organizing the Continental mechanics, Local 19 has hadan office in Houston, which helped with the recent campaign. It gaveworkers a place to visit and see for themselves what the Teamsters wereabout. “After the vote count, workers stopped by and it gave them areal sense that ‘this is my union,’” Rasch said.

Local OrganizersIn the Newark-New York City area, Local 210 hired five organizersfor the campaign to work with International Union organizers, saidGeorge Miranda, Local 210 Secretary-Treasurer.

“The organizers literally lived with the workers, contacting themon every shift and reaching out to them at all hours,”Miranda said.

Local 210 also paid for workers in Newark, the airline’s secondlargest hub, to attend campaign blitzes in other parts of the country.“You have to have workers talk to their own peers, and having workersfrom different parts of the country talking to one another wasbeneficial,”Miranda said.

Strong RelationshipsIn Cleveland, the third largest Continental hub, Local 964 Secretary-Treasurer Mark Frey and his team built a strong relationship with theContinental workers.

The local’s leadership worked closely with the OrganizingCommittee in Cleveland.

“We built a relationship and explained the Teamster differenceand showed them the difference,” Frey said. “We were available atall times to answer their questions and help the committee memberseducate their co-workers. We built trust between each other andwe listened.”

Frey said the local developed a strong core group ofworkers which was willing to reach out to their co-workers to helpthe campaign.

The local’s goal was to get 400 of the 583 workers within thelocal’s area to vote in the election, which required that 50 percentplus one of the entire nationwide unit vote. In the end, 452 workersvoted—a 77 percent voter turnout.

Local Unions Play Key Role in

Continental VICTORYNearly 8,000Workers at Airline Join Teamsters Teamsters Put Donor and Product Safety First

American Red CrossWorkersFormNational Coalition

L

4 | Teamster Leader | March 2010 March 2010 | Teamster Leader | 5

The PennsylvaniaConference ofTeamsters

recently announcedits selection ofWilliamHamilton as its newPresident.Hamiltonwas unanimouslyselected by theConference’s PolicyCommittee to replacePresident PaulCardullo, whose termended Dec. 31, 2009.Hamilton took overthe position on Jan. 1, 2010.

The Pennsylvania Conference ofTeamsters is the political arm of the unionfor its affiliates in the state. It coordinatesTeamster political activity and fights forworking families on labor, construction andpublic employee issues in Pennsylvania.

“I would like to thank the ExecutiveBoard for giving me the opportunity toserve the conference in this capacity. It is anhonor to be entrusted with this positionand responsibility. I, along with the entireExecutive Board, will work diligently tooppose any legislation that would have anadverse impact on our members,”Hamiltonsaid.“Our brothers and sisters deservestrong and coordinated representation inthe political process at the state and federallevels to protect their rights under law, andtomake certain that labor is always on alevel playing field.”

Hamilton is also an International VicePresident and President of Joint Council 53and Local 107.

William HamiltonSelected as Head of

Pennsylvania Conference ofTeamsters

Teamsters came out in fullforce in 2009 to reach amajor milestone. Teamsters

General President Jim Hoffa set anambitious goal for the TeamstersUnion to recruit and train 1,000new member organizers last year,and Teamster members went aboveand beyond the call of duty.

Nearly 1,200 Teamsters attend-ed member organizer boot campsthrough their locals and JointCouncils. There were 22 bootcamps, involving 20 Joint Councilsand two Conferences (Pennsylvaniaand Ohio), with member organizersfrom 170 Teamster locals, the GCCand BLET. These members volun-teered their weekends, took action,and sometimes braved the elementsto fight for what really matters—rebuilding the middle class and rais-ing standards for working families.However, workis not done.

“We are engaged in nationalcampaigns that will test theresources of the union and weneed a mighty army of Teamstermember organizers to get it done,”Hoffa said.

The Teamsters still need moremember organizers. In 2010, newmember organizer training willfocus on organizing campaignand industry-specific activities.The union will continue training

volunteer organizers through theboot camp program in 2010.

Here’s a snapshot of themembers who participated in the2009 Teamsters member organizerboot camps:• 1,165 total member organizers;

• 20 percent were women;

• 14 percent were black;

• 10 percent were Hispanic;

• Participants included Teamstersfrom a variety of backgrounds,including Asian, Arabic, PacificIslander, Native Americanand Haitian;

• Age range: 23-70 years old;

• Average age: 45.4;

• Teamster experience:6 months to 49 years;

• Average years as aTeamster: 16.4;

• 130 speak at least twolanguages, among them:Spanish, Haitian Creole, French,Portuguese, Tagalog, Italian,German, Ukrainian, Hmongand Japanese;

• Teamsters from 23 differentindustries, in jobs from airconditioning mechanic toyardman, correctional officerto x-ray technician, and dock-worker to registered nurse,all participated.

The Mighty Army in 2009

WhenNewYork Rep. LouiseSlaughter needed to rally hersupporters around a bill to

reform U.S. trade policy, she called on anold friend—Richard Lipsitz, PoliticalAction Coordinator for Joint Council 46 inWestern New York.

Lipsitz agreed to participate in a paneldiscussion titled“Time for a TradeTurnaround”atWorkers United Hall inRochester on Jan. 28. Joining him and Rep.Slaughter were Jim Bertolone, president ofthe Rochester-area labor federation,AFL-CIO; Brooke Newell, director of NewYorkCitizens Trade; and Carolyn Bartholomew,Vice Chairman of the U.S.-China EconomicSecurity and Review Commission.

Lipsitz wasn’t surprised to see morethan 120 people there.Many,many jobs havebeen lost inWestern NewYork as a result ofU.S. trade policy. Slaughter co-sponsored abill to reform our trade policy, The TRADEAct, which the Teamsters strongly support.

“Everyone in the place was all jazzed upfor a fight,”Lipsitz said.“There’s a high levelof consciousness that the real enemy is notordinary workers in China or the Philippinesor in other places but in policies that allowmaximum profit to be made by the biggestcorporations in the U.S.”

The TRADEAct would require a reviewof existing trade agreements, and it wouldprotect jobs and citizens in future tradeagreements.

Teamster Joins Call to Action on Fair TradeJoint Council 46 Leader Joins Rep. Slaughter in Support of TRADEAct

For his nearly 20 years of service to organized labor, theNorthwest Indiana Federation of Labor (NIFL) recentlyhonored a veteran Teamster organizer and business agent.

Harvey Jackson, the Steward Council President of Local 142,received the NIFL’s Service to Labor Award in a ceremony recently.In addition to his enduring commitment to the men and womenof Local 142, Jackson was honored for his ongoing assistance of affili-ated Teamster charities and the organization of multiple communityoutreach programs.

“I was taken aback when I first heard I’d be receiving this award.I just do the things I do,” Jackson said.“I’m just a kid from Hammond,Indiana who grew up in the projects. If someone had told me 20 yearsago that I’d be working with the Teamsters and accomplishing every-thing I’ve been able to, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

“True Teamster power is rooted in public service and a commit-ment to working men and women everywhere—a spirit HarveyJackson proudly embodies,” said John T. Coli, President of TeamstersJoint Council 25.

Veteran Teamster Honored for Labor Commitment

Local 142 Organizer Receives Awardfor Charitable, Union Service

6 | Teamster Leader | March 2010 March 2010 | Teamster Leader | 7

After months of effort and engagement with the OccupationalSafety and Health Administration (OSHA), BMWED’ssubstantial efforts have paved the way for strong whistleblow-

er protection for BMWED members and all railroad workersnationwide.

On August 3, 2007, the authority for rail carrier whisleblowerprotections was transferred to OSHA. This was done when the FederalRail Safety Act (FRSA), 49 U.S.C. Section 20109, was amended by TheImplementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act. The lawprovides railroad workers with rights and remedies against unlawfulcarrier retaliation for reporting injuries and violations of federal lawsand regulations related to railroad safety and security. In addition, theintent of the whistleblower law is to protect rail workers from retaliationfor reporting hazardous safety or security conditions, refusing to workunder certain conditions, or refusing to authorize the use of anysafety- or security-related equipment, track or structure.

Since the whistleblower law went into effect, rail carriers have rou-

tinely raised a superficial defense to Section 20109 whistleblowercomplaints, falsely claiming that a rail employee’s grievance filed underthe terms of the collective bargaining agreement became an “election ofremedies” baring the filing of a complaint under Section 20109. Basedupon that facile defense, OSHA initially adopted a policy which forcedrail workers to forfeit their contractual rights in order to pursue awhistleblower complaint under Section 20109.

After many months of intensive engagement by BMWED,OSHA has reversed its policy, effectively opening the door to genuinewhistleblower protection for railroad workers as the Congress intended.

“This is a significant victory for BMWED and all of rail labor,”said Freddie N. Simpson, International Vice President and BMWEDPresident. “Thanks to the efforts of the BMWED, railroads will nolonger be able to retaliate against railroad employees who reportinjuries and safety violations with impunity. This is a substantialvictory for all of Rail Labor and every rail worker nationwide, and Iam proud that BMWED led the way to this important victory,”

The Professional Truck Driver Institute(PTDI) awarded Mark Johnson,Teamsters National Training Director,

with their Lee J. Crittenden Memorial Awardon March 2 as part of the Truckload CarriersAssociation’s Annual Convention. The award isgiven to a person who exemplifies the overallmission of the PTDI.

Johnson, a Teamster since 1965, first beganwork in the driver training field in 1992 when hewas assigned as training director for the AlaskaTeamster-Employer Service.

He has served as the National TrainingDirector since 2004. In that time, Johnson hasbuilt alliances between training programs acrossthe country, expanded the program to address theneeds of more workers in a variety of industries,and developed a communication structure toshare information about training between localsand other union affiliates.

The PTDI has benefited from Johnson’sexperience since he joined their board in 1999.For the past two years he has worked on PTDI’sStandards Review Task Force including a reviewof entry-level standards.

“It is an honor to be recognized by yourpeers on national commercial vehicle driver train-ing matters,” Johnson said. “The award shows therespect the trucking industry has for theTeamsters.What has guided me is not politicaldifferences or union verses nonunion but the bestway to improve the safety and quality of all com-mercial vehicle operators.”

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa joined Sierra Club’sCarl Pope and supporters from Change to Win, the BlueGreen Alliance, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy

and the Natural Resources Defense Council last night to honorLos Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa for his green jobsleadership in Washington, DC. Several Members of Congress andthe chair of the Federal Maritime Commission Richard Lidinskyalso attended the reception hosted by the Coalition for Clean &Safe Ports.

Villaraigosa has been a staunch supporter of the Port of LosAngeles’ Clean Truck Program which has dramatically reduced dieseltruck pollution. The program has come under fire by industry pol-luters, but leaders from around the country have lent have lent theirpowerful voices to help protect the solutions to address the impactsof local port trucking on working families, residents, businesses andcommunities.

Hoffa praised Villaraigosa for his efforts to ensure that the L.A.Clean Truck Program remains in place to provide protection to thosewho work in and live around port.

“Mayor Villaraigosa understands the connection between portpollution and the difficult economic situation and working condi-tions of thousands of port truck drivers in L.A.,”Hoffa said. “He tooktime to listen to the concerns and personal stories of port drivers andunderstood that if we wanted to improve the system of goods move-ment, we had to start at its core - with the drivers that actually deliv-er these goods that come into our ports.”

Mark Johnson,Teamsters National Training

Director, Wins Award

Mayor VillaraigosaHonored

General President ApplaudsMayor’sSupport Of Clean Truck Program

Whistleblower Protection

BMWED EffortsPreserve Strong Protectionfor Rail Workers

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