At the 1991 IBT Convention, Teamsters won the right to vote on all supplements and riders to the national contract. Prior to that time, there were no votes on regional supplements, which means that a Teamster in California could vote to ratify a supplement in New Jersey, and vice versa. Employers with national contracts used it to divide and conquer Teamsters members. 

My friend Herman Benson died yesterday, just shy of his 105th birthday. He was an inspiration, a leader, and sometimes a critic for so many of us working to put the membership front-and-center in the Teamsters and in the whole labor movement.