August 11, 2008: The ballots cast on the tentative national carhaul agreement will be counted on Tuesday, August 12, and the count could continue the following day as well.

Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) will make results available as soon as possible, on an on-going, local-by-local basis. Check www.tdu.org or contact the TDU office.

The ballots will be picked up from the post office in the morning, and then the sorting and processing will take time before counting can begin. Each local will be counted separately.

As a result of a successful lawsuit pursued by rank-and-file carhaulers and TDU, three experienced observers independent of the International Union will be at the count. There will also be other observers sent from some local unions.

But the balloting process is in the control of the International. There have been reports of widespread problems with members not receiving ballots, ballots going to long-retired members, and multiple ballots received by some members. The International Union, by intent or incompetence, has not handled the ballot process well. If the vote is close, those problems could be important.

If the contract and all three supplements are approved by majority vote, it will go into effect. If the national agreement or any supplement is not approved, further negotiations will be needed.