September 1, 2005: In his two terms as Teamster general president, James Hoffa has delivered a dues hike, pension cuts, a shrinking membership, and the return of allegations of organized crime influence at the highest levels of the union—all while turning a financial surplus into a deficit.
Now Hoffa will have to answer for that record—and the decline of Teamster power on his watch.
A group of local Teamster leaders has formed an exploratory committee to discuss what it will take to defeat Hoffa in next year’s election for IBT office. Local officers have launched the Committee for New Leadership to put together the program and leadership team that can rebuild Teamster power.
Teamster members will have a choice in the 2006 balloting—and the opportunity to vote for a new leadership and new direction for our union.
“Right now, we’re at the stage of reaching out and building the alliances and campaign infrastructure we’ll need, not just to win this election but to successfully lead this union on a new course,” said Jack Reardon, vice president of Local 170 in Massachusetts. “Our job is to build a grassroots army for change.”
“Growing numbers of Teamsters are saying that our union is in crisis,” said Oregon Local 206 Secretary-Treasurer Tom Leedham. “If we want to save our union, we’ve got to work together.”
The Committee for New Leadership has not announced a candidate. Under the Teamster election rules, the official candidate accreditation process begins this summer with a petition drive.
“We want to hear from Teamsters about your ideas,” said Randy Brown, Atlanta Local 728 president. “No one’s going to fix it for us. We’ve got to do this together.”
TDU encourages concerned Teamsters to get involved in this campaign to save our union. Contact the Committee for New Leadership at:
newleadership2006 [at] gmail.com.
Now Hoffa will have to answer for that record—and the decline of Teamster power on his watch.
A group of local Teamster leaders has formed an exploratory committee to discuss what it will take to defeat Hoffa in next year’s election for IBT office. Local officers have launched the Committee for New Leadership to put together the program and leadership team that can rebuild Teamster power.
Teamster members will have a choice in the 2006 balloting—and the opportunity to vote for a new leadership and new direction for our union.
“Right now, we’re at the stage of reaching out and building the alliances and campaign infrastructure we’ll need, not just to win this election but to successfully lead this union on a new course,” said Jack Reardon, vice president of Local 170 in Massachusetts. “Our job is to build a grassroots army for change.”
“Growing numbers of Teamsters are saying that our union is in crisis,” said Oregon Local 206 Secretary-Treasurer Tom Leedham. “If we want to save our union, we’ve got to work together.”
The Committee for New Leadership has not announced a candidate. Under the Teamster election rules, the official candidate accreditation process begins this summer with a petition drive.
“We want to hear from Teamsters about your ideas,” said Randy Brown, Atlanta Local 728 president. “No one’s going to fix it for us. We’ve got to do this together.”
TDU encourages concerned Teamsters to get involved in this campaign to save our union. Contact the Committee for New Leadership at:
newleadership2006 [at] gmail.com.
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