September 13, 2014: Yesterday the Laredo Texas Con-way terminal workers voted to join Teamsters Local 657, in a first-ever organizing win at the giant LTL carrier. Los Angeles Joint Council 42 just filed with the NLRB for organizing votes at three Con-way terminals in Los Angeles, Santa Fe Springs and San Fernando. Is this the start of movement to organize in freight and trucking? We hope so! It’s certainly a good first step, and should...

September 12, 2014: The labor movement is joining up with the biggest mobilization against climate change in history. World leaders will converge on New York City later this month for a United Nations climate summit.   Unions are converging on New York City too. The Teamsters are joining forces with unions, environmental groups, students, and over 1,000 social and economic justice organizations for the biggest climate change march in history on Sunday, Sept. 21.  The purpose of the march is...

September 11, 2014: Rail workers have shouted a loud “No” to single-person train crews. The contract rejection was delivered by conductors who work for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), who are members of SMART (Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers union). “Rail workers told the BNSF railway, their union leaders and fellow rail workers that they will not support single-person crews,” said Ron Kaminkow, an engineer for Amtrak and member of the Brotherhood...

September 11, 2014: It’s time to make a worker’s right to speak out for unions, without employer retaliation, a civil right. Two members of Congress have introduced the Employee Empowerment Act, to give the right to organize protections found in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. You can learn more and sign a petition of support. The bill has little chance of passing at present, but is an important part of building a movement...

September 4, 2014: Fast Food workers walked off the job in 150 cities September 4 to win a living wage of $15 an hour and the right to be union members. TDU stands with them!  The walkouts are the latest in a series of coordinated strikes that began in November 2012. Today marks the first time that the actions include nonviolent civil disobedience. Police arrested at least 19 people outside of a McDonald’s in New...

August 29, 2014: Happy Labor Day Weekend, from your brothers and sisters in Teamsters for a Democratic Union. On Labor Day, we celebrate the union movement—the folks that brought you the weekend, the 8-hour day, retirement with dignity and the middle class. Employers and corporate politicians want to roll these gains back. To defend them, we’ve got to put more movement back in the labor movement. That’s what TDU is all about. Enjoy the long...

August 29, 2014: Teamsters at the Twin River Casino took a gamble that solidarity could beat corporate greed at Twin River Casino. Now they’ve beaten the house. The money never stops flowing at Twin River Casino, the largest gambling and entertainment venue in Rhode Island. But the winnings always stopped when it came to Local 251 members who work as parking valets at the Casino. Until now. With their old local union leadership cozy with...

August 29, 2014:  Hoffa administration lawyers are filing a motion before Federal Judge Loretta Preska in a bid to curtail fair, independently supervised elections in the Teamsters. Judge Preska can’t just hear from Hoffa. She needs to hear from us. More than 10,000 Teamsters have signed an Open Letter to Judge Preska—including over 3,700 online signatures.  Help defend our right to vote: Sign the petition online and make your voice heard. Email a link to the...

Updated September 12, 2014: More than 12,000 Teamsters have signed the petition to save the Right to Vote for International Union officers. There's still time to make our voices heard. Hoffa administration lawyers are filing a motion before Federal Judge Loretta Preska in a bid to curtail fair, independently supervised elections in the Teamsters. More than 12,000 Teamsters have signed petitions to save the Right to Vote for International Union officers. This includes more than 4,000...

August 21, 2014: The Independent Review Board (IRB) has moved to bring charges against all the officers of Chicago Local 710. According to the report of charges dated August 15, all members of the Executive Board violated their fiduciary duty when they repeatedly approved the purchase of excess visa gift cards under the control of Local Secretary Treasurer Pat Flynn. Flynn was charged in July, and on July 30 the local was put into trusteeship...