May 7, 2014: Hoffa and Hall have finally revealed how they secretly changed the Teamster Constitution to impose the UPS contract over No Votes by the members.
Under the IBT Constitution, Teamster members have the Right to Vote on our contract supplements and riders. National contracts can’t go into effect until all supplements and riders are approved.
But last month, Hoffa and Hall imposed the UPS contract even though members had overwhelmingly rejected the supplements in Louisville, Philadelphia, and Western PA.
The No Vote in Louisville was 94 percent. How did Hoffa and Hall turn that into a ratified contract?
TDU had previously reported the danger that Hoffa and Hall could amend the IBT Constitution to impose the contract. Now TDU members have forced Hoffa and Hall to reveal that they did just that.
Normally, the Constitution can only be amended by the Teamster Convention. But Article XII, Section 6, has a little-known clause allowing the General Executive Board to amend Article XII on contract votes.
The GEB invoked this dangerous clause to insert new language in the Constitution that allows the negotiating committee to “declare the master agreement and all supplements and riders to be in effect” when members Vote No on their supplement because of a provision in the national agreement.
Hoffa and Hall had to lie to apply this clause to the Louisville Air Supplement, because critical local issues were on the table, in that case, and because the company had actually made their “final” offer worse than their earlier offer.
The blame for the nearly year-long delay in bargaining lies with Ken Hall. When the members rejected a record 18 supplements and riders last June, Hall was handed the bargaining power to straighten out some important issues, and get the contract approved. Instead he played footsie with the company for ten months, to discourage members.
TDU members, via letters to Ken Hall, invoked their right under federal law to a complete copy of their union constitution.
Following those letters to Ken Hall, the International made public the GEB resolution and the amendment to the constitution.
Click here to read the General Executive Board’s resolution that amended the Constitution.