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TEAMSTER NEWSKeeping Jobs In The U.S.A.McKissick Teamsters and Management Cooperate to Keep Work at Homecommunication and workingtogether, the Teamsters andthe company have been able tosupply increasing demand fortheir products in Asia.Creating JobsAbanner hangs above thefreshly machined andpainted crane parts thatsit on the loading dock atMcKissick Blocks in Tulsa,Oklahoma:McKissick QualityWorking together for ourfamilies and our future.Teamster Pride“It’s a lot different than itwas 10 years ago,” said TonyJaboe, a steward at the company. “It seemed as if we wereconstantly butting heads.”Jaboe balls his fists and bangshis left and right hands together. “But then we realized wecan’t disagree on everything.So that’s where we started andeverything grew out of that.”Jaboe and the other 232Teamsters at McKissick havetaken an active role in improv-ing procedures and makingtheir workspaces safer andmore efficient. As a result, thecompany has resisted the trendin manufacturing to outsourceits work to foreign countries.Today, working conditionshave improved and productivity is up. So are sales. In fact,business hasn’t been this goodat McKissick for 25 years.Bursting BubbleIn the 1970s, high oil pricesin the wake of the OPEC oilembargo financed a boom indomestic energy explorationand production. As drillingintensified, so did demand forMcKissick’s block and tackleequipment. The bubble finallyburst in 1982. As the companysank into bankruptcy, it turnedto its employees and asked theInstead of exporting jobs,McKissick is once againcreating them. The 233employee company plansto add nearly a dozen jobsin 2006 to help feed itsAsian exports.4TEAMSTER AUGUST 2006 w w w . t e a m s t e r. o r gbargaining unit for wage concessions. Some workers werelaid off. Over time, businessimproved, but attitudes andworking conditions didn’t.“This place used to be adinosaur,” said Randy Campbell, President of Tulsa’s Local523. “The machines were old,their safety record was spottyand the place was a mess. Thisplace was always a troublespot for the local as far back Ican remember.”That’s why McKissick wasthe first place Campbell visitedwhen he became President.“I knew about trucking, but Ididn’t know about manufacturing,” Campbell said. “So Ispent a lot of time here gettingto know the guys, their concerns and the management.”By opening the lines of“It makes me sick when Isee companies shipping jobsoverseas,” said Danny Bullett,a Teamster machinist whohas worked for McKissickfor 39 years. “I think a lot ofthose companies could workharder to keep those jobshere in America. Cutting jobsand moving work to anothercountry is the easy way out asI see it.”Instead of exporting jobs,McKissick is once again creating them. The 233-employeecompany plans to add nearly adozen jobs in 2006 to help feedits Asian exports.“They are working smarter,not cheaper, and creating abetter product,” Campbell said.“And you know what? I know,and the workers know, moreabout this company than weever did before.”

A Healthy FutureConvention Center Workers Secure Wage Increases,Stronger Benefits“This is the best allaround contract we’vegotten here since I’vebeen a Teamster,” said LeifThornton, a 24-year memberof Local 82 in Boston. “It’sspectacular.”Thornton is among the500 Teamsters working at theBoston Convention Center. Astrong majority of the Local82 members recently ratifieda new three-year contractthat significantly raises wages,increases pension contributions and strengthens healthcare coverage.“The contract improvesthe things that matter most tomembers: wages, health careand pensions,” said John Perry,Director of the TeamstersTrade Show Division and Local82 President. “We were suc-cessful in securing an agreement we could all be proudof. We gave nothing back andstrengthened workers’ positions everywhere.”Big ImprovementsRetroactive to April 1, the newcontract improves wages andbenefits by 5.67 an hour overits three-year term. The wageand benefit improvementsinclude a 1 hourly wageincrease each year, plus hourlyhealth and welfare and pensionplans increases of 82 cents, 89cents and 97 cents during thefirst, second and third years.Local 82 members performall work, except electrical, atthe convention center. Thebargaining unit includes truckdrivers, forklift drivers, riggingworkers, warehouse workers,set-up workers and generallaborers.“This new contract is awesome,” said Rodney Simoes,a 15-year Local 82 member.“It raises wages and the healthcoverage is outstanding.”Simoes was forced to usehis health coverage this springwhen he and his wife were in anear-fatal motorcycle accident(they were broadsided by adriver in a car), landing Simoesin a coma for more than twoweeks.NewDealInNewEnglandBLET Contract at New England Central Clarifies RightsBrotherhood of Locomotive Engineersand Trainmen (BLET) members recentlyapproved a new four-year collective bargaining agreement with the New England CentralRailroad (NECR).The agreement provides wage increasesof 12 percent over the life of the contract,back pay, and improvements in work rulesand discipline procedures. About 50 members approved the new contract by a 2-1margin.“It’s the first BLET contract on the property and I consider it to be an impressiveimprovement over the old one,” said Ben Martin, General Chairman at NECR.“Everyone was happy to get the backpay,” said Spencer Hogan, a locomotiveengineer who has worked at the New EnglandCentral since 1998. Members received backpay for the four-month period after expirationof the old contract and prior to ratification ofthe new one.Protecting WorkersIn addition to providing wage increases, thenew agreement clarifies language to protectworkers’ rights and provide them with a moredefined disciplinary procedure.“A lot of gray areas have been clearedup,” Hogan said.BLET Local Chairman Scott Holbrook, whohelped negotiate the new deal, said the old con-Great Coverage“My wife and I were in thebest hospital in Massachusettsbecause of our coverage,”Simoes said. “The doctors andstaff were top notch. It made ahuge difference while we wererecovering.”“I’d always known howvaluable being a union member is,” Simoes said. “As soon asI get back to work, I’m goingto be a big advocate, tellingeveryone how good our healthcare coverage is.”tract “was riddled with carrier escape clauses.”“The old contract was vague,” said Holbrook, who has been a locomotive engineer atNECR for just over five years. “It was open forthe company to do what it wanted to do.”Closing the LoopThe new agreement contains a scope rulethat protects the work of locomotive engineers and conductors.“The new agreement provides protection from remote control. If the carrier everintroduces new technology, then we hold therights to the work,” Martin said. The scoperule also prevents the carrier from using contractors and other outside laborers.The NECR owns and operates 330 milesof track from Alburg, Vermont to New London,Connecticut, hauling primary commoditiessuch as fuel oil, lumber, cement and grain.w w w . t e a m s t e r. o r g AUGUST 2006 TEAMSTER5

TEAMSTER NEWSCabin PressureComair Flight Attendants Win Bankruptcy MotionGambling on her kids’health and welfare was notan option for Karen Terry,one of 1,100 flight attendantsat Comair being singled outfor drastic pay cuts in a bankruptcy motion the companyinitiated this spring.On February 21, the Cincinnati-based company—awholly owned subsidiary ofDelta Airlines—asked a federal bankruptcy court thatis handling Delta’s Chapter11 restructuring to rejectComair’s collective bargaining agreement with its flightattendants so that concessionscould be imposed.“The company was asking us for an average of a 30percent wage cut on top of bigcuts to our health care benefitslast year,” said Terry, who hasworked for Comair for 18years. “That was going to hurtmy kids and I wasn’t about tolet that happen.”Winning the FightFlight attendants sprung intoaction, distributing informational leaflets at airports andpetitioning the public and politicians for support. The flightattendants then overwhelmingly approved an authorization to strike on March 24,2006, shortly before the bankruptcy hearings started. Theflight attendants and the company were unable to work outa deal and then had to wait forthe judge to issue a decision.In late April, after numerous actions to garner com-munity support for theircause, Federal BankruptcyJudge Adlai Hardin refused thecompany’s motion to reject theTeamster contract.Judge Hardin found thatComair had not bargainedin good faith and had failedto meet the requirements ofbeing fair and proportionate inits concession demands.A Strong Stand“Comair’s non-negotiabledemand was that the flightattendants contribute twicetheir share of the cost cuts,while the pilots and mechanicswere asked for less than theirproportionate shares, basedon 2005 compensation,” JudgeHardin said. “The fact thatthe flight attendants are at ornear the lowest pay scale of allComair’s employees and therefore the least able to affordsevere cuts in their wages,compel me to the conclusion that It is not ‘fair andequitable’ to ask of the flightattendants double their prorata share based on their shareof employee compensation.”“This is a major victory forour flight attendants who tooka strong stand to protect theirfamilies and communities inthe face of Comair’s draconiandemands,” said Jim Hoffa,Teamsters General President.“This shows that the courtagreed that we were beingasked to shoulder onerousand unreasonable cuts,” saidConnie Slayback, President ofLocal 513 in Cincinnati. “Weare still willing to do our fairshare in response to the bankruptcy and we have been backat the bargaining table sincemid-May.”“This is a major victoryfor our flight attendantswho took a strong standto protect their familiesand communities inthe face of Comair’sdraconian demands.”—JIM HOFFA,TEAMSTERS GENERAL PRESIDENT6TEAMSTER AUGUST 2006 w w w . t e a m s t e r. o r g

Shenandoah’s True PrideDairy Workers in Virginia Score Solid ContractJ.T. Daniels and hiscoworkers at Shenandoah’s Pride Dairy in Mt.Crawford and Charlottesville,Virginia were pleased aboutthe health care savings in theirnew four-year contract.Approximately 60 workersfrom Local 29 in Waynesboro,Virginia, including cooler workers and milk delivery route drivers, voted overwhelmingly toratify the contract.“I think most workers arevery excited and for peoplewith families this really meansa lot,” said Daniels, a 28-yearmilk driver. “We have a good,secure feeling thanks to helpfrom our local leaders and theTeamsters Union.”Contract HighlightsThe agreement guarantees thatthe Joint Council 83 Health andWelfare Fund will cover the unit,which previously participatedin the company’s substandardhealth insurance plan.“When we got the Teamsters insurance, we got something that really topped thisoff,” said Guy Lam, a 23-yearmilk driver and chief stewardat the Mt. Crawford facility.“That made the contract as faras I am concerned.”Drivers will garner a 3percent raise in base pay anda 3 percent increase on commissions. Hourly workers willreceive wageincreases ofmore than 4percent, whichincludes timeand a half aswell as holidaypay and oneextra personalday. The unitalso gained DRIVE recognition in the contract.“It really is a great contractthat recognizes the contributions of our workers,” saidJohn Farrish, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 29.w w w . t e a m s t e r. o r g AUGUST 2006 TEAMSTER7

THE NAFTA TRUCKERHOLDING8TEAMSTER AUGUST 2006 w w w . t e a m s t e r. o r g

THE LINEInvestigative Reporter Charles Bowden’s Story inthe November 1999 Issue of The Teamster Told ofExploited, Exhausted, Unsafe Mexican Truck Drivers—Seven Years Later, Nothing has ChangedTHERE IS A PLAN NO ONE TALKS ABOUT VERY MUCH, ONE THATFLOATS OVER THE HORIZON LIKE AN APPROACHING STORM AT SEA.In this business dream, the Pacific ports of the United States will be shiftedsouth to new massive anchorages in Mexico even though this increases the shipping distance by 30 percent for all the Asian tonnage. These new ports will belinked by major train and truck arteries—NAFTA Corridors—to the cities of theUnited States and Canada. Mexican trucking companies will be bought (and arebeing bought up now) by American firms and Mexican truckers will deliver thefreight and freely drive all U.S. highways. In this plan, the shipping of the UnitedStates leaves union ports and the long haul trucking leaves union drivers.An enlarged I-35 will reach north from the sister cities of Laredo/Nuevo Laredo1,600 miles to Canada via San Antonio, Austin, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Kansas City, theTwin Cities and Duluth and I-69 will originate at the same crossing and streaknorth to Michigan. Each corridor will be about 1,200 feet wide. Six lanes will bededicated to cars, four to trucks and in the middle will be rail and utilities. Thegoods will come from new Mexican ports on the Pacific coast. At the moment, atleast five such corridors are on the drawing boards.This is the story of some of the drivers who will be used by this plan. They knownothing of this scheme. They are too busy simply surviving to study such matters.BY CHARLES BOWDEN /// PHOTOS BY JULIAN CARDONAw w w . t e a m s t e r. o r g AUGUST 2006 TEAMSTER9

“I stand in front of the yard ofTrans Mex Swift, an Americanowned Mexican trucking company. The traffic of the WorldTrade Bridge roars past. In lessthan an hour, four truck tiresexplode. Mexican truckers arenot coddled with good rigs orgood tires. One semi pulls over.Both tires on the left rear backaxle are gone and the truckerstares at rims resting on thepavement. One tire, he explains,went about 150 miles ago,but he had no money withwhich to buy another one.Now both are gone.”10TEAMSTER AUGUST 2006 w w w . t e a m s t e r. o r g

Professional SecretsThe five men sit at the truckstop tableabout 20 kilometers below the Rio Grandeat Laredo-Nuevo Laredo on the Texas border. They, or their sons or grandsons, maysomeday be shock troops on the NAFTACorridors. Just a few hundred yards fromwhere the men eat and smoke, the majorhighway coming from the Mexican southforks. One road leads into Nuevo Laredo,the other arcs west and connects just westof the city with a trucking center on theU.S. side by means of the World TradeBridge. This new bridge and dedicatedtruck highway is an early link in thisNAFTA Corridor. At the moment, 5,800trucks enter and leave this border crossingeach day, a trickle compared to the trafficthat will pour north once the new ports,rails and roads come on line by 2025.Their small lunch is finished, an emptyliter of beer stands before one driver, andat the moment, they smoke and laugh andtalk. For a Mexican trucker, life is an endless highway and the moments for conversation and fellowship can be few and farbetween.They don’t want their names usedbecause they don t want trouble and lifeon the roads of Mexico is trouble enough.“The longest distance I drive,” said adriver about 30 in a black T-shirt, “is fromEnsenada to Cancun, 4,500 kilometers. Fivedays and six nights alone. Tomatoes. Thecompany won’t pay for a second driver.”Ah, but how can a man stay awake anddrive for five straight days?The table erupts in laughter. The manfacing the empty liter of beer smiles andsays, “Professional secret.”The younger man in the black T-shirtoffers one phrase, “Magic dust.”There are more smiles and mention of“special chemicals.”And then they are off, a torrent ofwords and quips and smiles, and a knowing discussion of that jolt when a line ofcocaine locks in. They are all family menwho run the highways at least 25 days amonth and they are adamant about twothings—that nobody can run these longhauls without cocaine and crystal meth,and now and then some marijuana to levelout the rush. And that the biggest dangeron their endless runs comes from addictedMexican truck drivers, which means alltruck drivers.Dangerous DriversThe men earn about 1,100 a month. InMexico, the cost of living is roughly 80 or90 percent that of the U.S. The only realbargain in Mexico is labor. Many otheritems cost more than the U.S.—the telephone rates are among the highest in theworld and a sack of cement or a boardfoot of lumber costs more than in anyAmerican town.None of the drivers at the table hasdriven in the U.S. save for short crossingswhere they dump the load and instantlyreturn on special routes like the WorldTrade Bridge.The man with the empty beer explains“We make almost nothing—less than 300a week. I work 48 hours non-stop. I drive2,400 kilometers per trip and get no timefor turnarounds.”And every man at the table agrees ontheir biggest problem—the government.And by that they mean the police, especially federal, who rob them at will.“If you drive to Mexico City,” anotherdriver adds, “you are robbed, for sure.Police are the first to rob you. If you reporta robbery, the police try to make you theguilty person.”And now the table is rolling, about thebad equipment they are given, about thefact that the owners often stall them onpayment, about how there is no escapefrom the job, that they all know driverswho are still out there on long hauls at70, how they have all been robbed andhijacked, have all killed people with theirtrucks and, given the nature of Mexicanpolice, have all fled such accident sites,that they are all doomed to spend theirlives on an asphalt treadmill. And so theytake pride, enormous pride, in the factthat they can survive the life that has beendealt them.“Dust in the Air”The basic Mexican trucker is living thelife that American truckers once tastedbefore the Teamsters fashioned over-theroad contracts.There are warm moments in this life.Women.w w w . t e a m s t e r. o r g AUGUST 2006 TEAMSTER11

All over the country, a strangefigure has appeared in the lastfive years or so, La SantisimaMuerte,Most Holy Death. SheThe men talk with smiles of cachimbas,which means fireplaces. In earlier days onis skeletal, wears a long robe,the road, there would be wooden shackscarries a scythe and holds thewith fires going, roadside brothels. Mexicowhole world in her hand. Shenow has four-lane roads for many truckisrecognized by no church orroutes and stouter buildings, but the termgovernment. But she is known tocachimba has stuck for truckstops whereallwho move down these roads women and drugs are freely available.One man says, “Don’t print that. If youSemis constantly pull over,do, all those American

The union is telling UPS it wants to start earlier than usual because members need a permanent fix to the com-plex problems of pension and health security, and these critical issues will take time to hammer out. It is important for members' peace of mind. Members cannot afford to wait until 2008 to have solutions to these problems. Pressuring UPS