August 15, 2013: There's a rerun election in the 5,000-member Local 848 in Los Angeles in progress, as a result of a federal lawsuit brought by the U.S. Labor Department due to serious election violations. The Labor Department is conducting the election.

The sad truth is, the exact same violations were brought before Joint Council 42, headed by International vice president Randy Cammack, and then to the International union. Instead of enforcing the members' right to a fair vote, JC 42 whitewashed the violations. Then the Hoffa administration did nothing.

The incumbents in the election had counted the votes of ineligible voters, and had illegally posted bulletins on union bulletin boards denouncing their opponents because they didn't like what their opponents said. On appeal, Hoffa told the local to take down the notices, but they left them up.

Those are clear violations of basic democracy. But Cammack and the Hoffa administration are more interested in keeping friends in office than fair elections.