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Gov. Rendell Raises White Flag to His Unpopular Plans to Lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike and Destroy Teamster Jobs June 26, 2007 (Harrisburg, PA) - Victory over a plan to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike resulted from months of lobbying by the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters, their lobbyists, Joint Council 53, Joint Council 40, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa, affiliated local unions and their members. Gov. Ed Rendell made various concessions on June 26 to legislative critics in hopes it will speed efforts to reach a compromise with the House and Senate on a new state budget. Teamsters were gravely concerned about Gov. Rendell’s highly controversial plan to lease the Turnpike—billed as the “world’s greatest highway.” Had the governor’s plan materialized, it could have resulted in the elimination of Teamster jobs. Local 30 in Jeannette, Local 77 in Fort Washington and Local 250 in Pittsburgh represent toll takers, maintenance workers and certain supervisors on the Turnpike. “When 92,000 Teamsters speak you would be wise to listen,” Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters President Frank Gillen said. “The Conference has always fought hard on issues adverse to our hard working brothers and sisters. We will continue to stand up and fight for our members.” “Both Teamster Councils working in concert through the Pennsylvania Conference has paid off,” said Conference Secretary-Treasurer Roy Marshall. “The Conference acts as a catalyst between Joint Councils 40 and 53, especially on statewide issues such as this Turnpike plan fiasco.” The Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters is the political arm of the Teamsters. It coordinates Teamster political activity and fights for working families on labor, construction and public employee issues. The Conference represents 92,000 members in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and West Virginia.
(Houston, TX) – Pilots for Kalitta Air represented by Local 747 in Houston, Texas will vote on a tentative agreement by mail ballot over the course of the next month. The proposed contract is the product of over four years of negotiations and a previously rejected tentative agreement. The new agreement calls for a 20 percent pay increase over the four-year span of the contract and an enhanced 401(k) plan. The agreement also provides overtime pay and much improved work rules. “The crewmembers of Kalitta Air have endured a lengthy negotiations process up to this point. With the crewmembers’ unity and support, we were able to achieve an agreement that provides much needed pay increases, better work rules and an overall better quality of life,” said E.E. Sowell, Local 747 President. The agreement is subject to ratification by the membership and the ballots will be mailed out on June 20, 2007. The crewmembers will have 30 days to review the agreement and return their ballot to the Local 747 offices by July 19, 2007. The ballots will be counted and certified on July 20, 2007. Kalitta Air, an air cargo service airline based in Ypsilanti, MI, operates a fleet of B747s and B727s. Kalitta employs approximately 179 flight deck crewmembers. Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States and Canada |
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