How to Fight Mid-Contract Changes

The ink is not even dry on your new contract and management is already trying to make changes. Can they get away with it?

It is not unusual for Teamsters to be faced with this problem. Whether the employer can get away with mid-contract changes depends on a number of factors.

Here is a guide to defending against employer attempts to chip away at our rights in mid-contract.

Contract Changes

Article 12 of the IBT Constitution gives Teamsters the right to vote by secret ballot on contracts, and on midterm amendments or modifications made to contracts.

However, union officers and management have the right to negotiate changes that clarify the meaning of existing contract language, without the union putting it to a vote. Only changes that change or add to the contract language have to be put to a vote of the members. This legal difference can be subtle. Consult TDU for advice.

The right to vote gives members the power to reject unfavorable mid-contract changes—a powerful tool. But we need to be prepared to enforce this right.

Fighting Contract Changes

Just before Labor Day 2004, UPS in Richmond,Cal., made it clear that they intended to change the workweek for feeder drivers. Management wanted drivers to work for straight time on the holiday in exchange for getting an extra day off.

Members took fast action. They wrote a letter to Local 315 officers reminding them that members have the right to vote on contract changes. Local 315 then stopped the change. By standing up, members and the union stopped the change before it took place.

Management at Fujicolor tried to make a side deal last year with New Jersey Local 966 officials to give the company the right to contract out work in violation of the contract’s no subcontracting clause. Members fired off a letter to their union and won the right to vote on the issue.

Responding quickly is important. So is publicizing the issue so members are informed about what’s at stake and what their rights are.

Work-Rule Changes

Not all mid-contract changes are changes in contract language. Many are changes in work rules. We can still fight many of these changes. Two important tools to use are the grievance procedure and the right to bargain over work-rule changes.

Right to Bargain Over Changes

In many cases, employers are required to bargain with the union over midterm changes. One tactic members can use is to press for their local union to demand that bargaining take place.

“Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA),” attorney Bob Schwartz writes in The Legal Rights of Union Stewards, “if any employer wishes to adopt a new policy that affects employees or to make a change in a past practice, it must notify the union of the proposed change, and allow the union an adequate opportunity to bargain prior to implementation.”

“Management Rights” Do Not Waive Bargaining Rights

Management may try to argue that the “management rights” clause in the contract lets them get away with making changes without bargaining.

The NLRB, however, has taken the position that such clauses constitute waivers of rights only if they “clearly and unmistakably” allow management to take unilateral action in specific areas.

Broad, general management rights clauses do not constitute a waiver of bargaining rights.

Using the Grievance Procedure

Another tool to defend against mid-contract changes is the grievance procedure.

If there is a change to long established practices, some Teamster contracts have protective language that can help. In the national freight and carhaul contracts, Article 6, Section 1, is good language on “maintenance of standards.” The UPS contract has similar good language contained in the supplements.

All three of those contracts have language in Article 6 against “extra-contract agreements.” Such side deals may also be NLRB violations. As remedy the grievance should demand that the violation stop and that all those affected be made whole in every way.

Grievance Committees May Fail to Enforce Language

The problem often is that grievance committees fail to vigorously enforce this language. This comes back to the need to organize support early on, not wait for a grievance panel decision that could be months away.

Even if the grievance procedure is not going to be effective, it may still be important to use it (but not rely on it) to exhaust your remedies and build a documented paper trail in case legal action is necessary.

Summing Up

Employers will always push for extra advantages while our contracts are in effect. Local unions can enforce the right to bargain through the NLRB–and even take court action–to fight mid-contract changes.

When union officers refuse to maintain our standards, members can often fill the gaps by pressuring union officials, demanding the right to vote, and filing grievances.

Fast action and good documentation are both important. Seek advice early. Get grievances filed within deadlines. Send letters to the local and international, when appropriate.

Keep copies of everything: employer or union notices or correspondence as well as letters and responses from members to the local, company or international. Good documentation is essential if you intend to take legal action down the road.

We can defend our standards when employers seek mid-contract changes. But it takes quick and effective action. Contact TDU for advice.