May 24, 2013: For the first time in 49 years, there is no national master freight agreement.

There is an agreement with YRCW, and tentative agreements going to members at ABF and UPS Freight. Separate agreements for some 40,000 freight Teamsters, and none could possibly be considered a model contract.

Hoffa came into office on the slogan "The Hoffa name means power." His father's big accomplishment was the NMFA. Now he's been busy at his PR events while his assistants have allowed the NMFA to be dismantled.

Does our union have a future in trucking? We believe the answer is a definite yes. Those 40,000 Teamsters in freight, along with brothers and sisters in tankhaul, carhaul, private carriage and other trucking fields are the core to rebuilding Teamster power.

Teamster power is not about a famous name. It's about organizing in the distribution industry. That will take a leadership with the will and the plan to make it happen.