Dear Mayhem,

Thanks to the Teamster reform movement, virtually all Teamsters facing a merger are constitutionally entitled to a vote. Article IX, Section 11 of the Teamster Constitution requires a referendum vote of the members of the merging local except under narrowly defined exceptions.

The only circumstances under which the International can force a merger without a vote is if a local is “not capable of performing its representational functions, due to its financial conditions or where an emergency situation exists within the Local Union.”

TDU fought for this right for years and proposed it at Teamster Conventions. It is in the IBT Constitution, but the Hoffa administration may try to use the exception clause to force unwanted mergers, so members need to be vigilant in enforcing this right.