A Message from 804 Members United
On behalf of 804 Members United, I want to thank Local 804 members for standing up for positive changes in our bylaws.
Our union is stronger when members are informed and involved. That’s the direction we’re taking with the 804 Members United website: informing and involving members for a strong Local 804.
At the membership meeting, there was some discussion of the disputed published reports on exactly what issue Doc Dougherty died over on that picket line over 30 years ago. I appreciate Howie’s apology for the comments he made at the February union meeting.
Apologizing like he did lets us all focus on what is really important here: Doc Dougherty is a hero who put his life on the line for what we have today. The way to honor his memory is to fight for what he stood for: a strong Local 804.
Local 804 members did that by voting that contract down last year. We did that by standing up to UPS and saving 25 & Out. We did that by turning out to pass bylaws that will put information in the members hands and build a stronger union.
That’s Doc Doherty’s legacy. That’s Ron Carey’s legacy. And we all have a responsibility for carrying that legacy forward and leaving this union stronger than how we found it.
I’m proud to see these changes happening in this local and I applaud our membership.
- Tim Sylvester
Shop Steward, Maspeth
Local 804’s financial report for 2007 can now be downloaded on the 804 Members United website. The LM-2 financial report is filed each year with the Department of Labor, and provides a summary of our local’s income and expenses, including officers’ salaries.
Click here to download the Local 804 financial report for 2007.
Click here to download the financial report for 2006.
UPS said Wednesday its profits rose 7.5 percent in the first quarter, though they were affected by the weakening U.S. economy. The company lowered its earnings guidance for the year.
The results reported for the most recent quarter were in line with Wall Street expectations.
The company said it earned $906 million, or 87 cents a share, in the January-March quarter, compared to a profit of $843 million, or 78 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Revenue in the quarter rose 6.5 percent to $12.68 billion, compared to $11.91 billion recorded a year earlier.
UPS said it benefited from strong gains in its international operations.
But UPS also said it doesn’t expect the U.S. economy to strengthen in the second quarter. Shares fell $1.20, to $70.70 in premarket trading Wednesday.
Click here to read full coverage from the Associated Press.
[April 20] Members voted by more than 90 percent at today’s general membership meeting to pass two bylaws reforms proposed by 804 Members United.
Members voted by a 208 to 12 margin to require the Executive Board to give a report on our pension and health and welfare funds at every general membership meeting.
Members also voted 207 to 19 to establish a contract committee to keep members informed and united whenever a contract is being negotiated.
Two thousand members signed petitions in support of each of these bylaw changes after we were kept in the dark by our local about proposed pension cuts and contract givebacks in 2006 and 2007.
The changes will put more information in the hands of Local 804 members. It is up to us to use it to defend our contract and benefits.
President Howie Redmond endorsed both proposals from the podium.
Redmond also pledged to help members obtain pension documents that our fund has refused to turn over in violation of the Pension Protection Act.
What Are They Hiding?
The Pension Protection Act (PPA) requires that pension plans make more information available to participants so we can watchdog our funds. But unlike other Teamster pension plans, our fund has refused to turn over all the information that we are entitled to under the law.
Local 804 members can help secure our right to get this information by voting YES on the proposed bylaws reforms on Sunday, April 20 at the Local 804 general membership meeting.
Click here to download the leaflet “Fund Stonewalls on Providing Pension Information.
Read more…
Vote Yes to Give Members the Right to More Contract and Pension Information
Local 804 members will vote at the April general membership meeting on bylaws changes that will put more pension and contract information in the hands of the membership.
Two thousand Local 804 members signed petitions in an overwhelming demonstration of support for these positive reforms. Now it’s time for us to finish the job by turning out to Vote Yes at the membership meeting on Sunday, April 20 at 10 a.m.
Click here to download a leaflet to help turn out members to Vote Yes on April 20.
Read more…
An actuarial report prepared for the trustees of our Local 804 pension plan reveals several alarming facts about our pension fund that Local 804 members were kept in the dark about.
The report from AON consulting revealed that:
- The Local 804 pension fund had a $378 million shortfall as of November 2006 and approximately $100 million of this was due to poor investment performance.
- Our Local 804 pension fund earned dramatically substandard returns on its investments for a decade. AON Consulting reported that, “The average investment returns over the past five years have been a little more than 3%; over the past 10 years the average return has been just 6%.
- Local 804’s pension investment returns were worse than the Central States Pension Fund over the same five and ten-year periods-and worse than other funds managed by AON Consulting.
AON reported that, “For comparison purposes, we looked at another substantial fund we work with and the average returns over similar periods were 6% over the last 5 years and nearly 10% over the past 10 years.” Read more…
Understanding Your Local 804 Pension
Do you want to know more about how your Local 804 pension works and what the future holds for our benefits? Then don’t miss the upcoming pension workshop: Understanding Your Local 804 Pension on Sunday, April 6.
Our pension fund will soon be officially designated in “Endangered Status” (the “Yellow Zone”).
Pension attorney Ann Curry Thompson will explain how our Local 804 pension works, what being in the Yellow Zone will mean for our pensions, and how Local 804 members can monitor our fund under the Pension Protection Act. Read more…
