The $200,000 Club listing of our union’s highest paid officials lets you decide who’s earning the money, who’s not, and what should be done about it.
Members deserve union leaders who fight for us.
Each year, TDU prints the $200,000 Club listing of our union’s highest paid officials. We report the facts so you can decide who’s earning the money and who’s just cashing in.
This year’s $200,000 Club (based on 2017 salaries, the most recent available) includes Hoffa administration officials who have negotiated concessions. Parcel Division Director Denis Taylor imposed a two-tier wage for UPS drivers, and stated that UPS feeder drivers are lazy.
Freight Director Ernie Soehl is now bargaining with YRCW, where members have lived with concessions for nearly a decade.
A few others in the Club are now gone from the union, either expelled for employer payoffs or retired after being defeated in the 2016 IBT election.
Click here to download the entire 2-page list of the Club.
Factual and Nonpartisan
Some of the officials in this report are hard-working, qualified leaders. This listing is not a condemnation. It is a factual, nonpartisan report to the members, which we have published annually for more than 35 years.
By putting this information in the hands of Teamsters member, TDU has greatly reduced excess salaries.
Teamster General President Jackie Presser paid himself over $500,000 in 1983, which is $1.3 million in today’s dollars. A few other officials made even more than Presser.
Exposing greed has helped to curb it and freed up more union funds for organizing and fighting for good contracts. But more needs to be done now to elect leaders who will say No to concessions and corruption, and Yes to Teamster power.
Financial Reforms
One victory we achieved was a reasonable limitation on the salaries of International Union officers, in the IBT Constitution (Article V, Section 1).
The General President is paid $225,000 plus a cost-of-living raise for each year in office (Hoffa made $313,989 in 2017), and no IBT Vice President or International Rep can make more than the President, by the use of multiple salaries.
TDU will fight to stop any move to remove the clause that limits officers from sky-high salaries.
Some officers wiggle around that clause to make more money. Randy Cammack resigned as International Vice President, then porked up his salaries from Los Angeles Joint Council 42 and Local 63. Cammack also gives his pal Randy Korgan an extra $60,000 a year “allowance” which is not listed in his salary.
Rome Aloise was suspended from the Teamsters, and John Coli was expelled, for taking employer payoffs, but they both were paid more than Hoffa last year. Aloise claims he was owed vacation pay, and apparently John Coli claims the same.
Where We Stand
Union officers should be compensated for the important work of leading our union. But members have a right to expect real leadership that’s fighting for us, not placeholders who are collecting big paychecks and handing over concessions.
TDU and TDU members demand vision, integrity, and action from our leaders so that our dues money is used to build union power.
If you agree that the union belongs to the members, and that we need new leaders who fight for us, become a TDU member. Join with thousands of others Teamsters to win change and rebuild union power.
Click here to find out how to access the LM-2 of your local union.
Who’s Who in the $200,000 Club?
James Hoffa and Ken Hall At $313,989 plus a $60,000 “housing allowance” Hoffa is a fat-cat and a lame duck, buying time while negotiating concessions. Hall wants to run for IBT President, but he’s been missing in action and hasn’t attracted much support. He was completely silent when the IBT gave UPS concessions and then imposed the contract over a No vote by the members. That’s not leadership.
Denis Taylor imposed two-tier concessions on UPS package car drivers, settled for $13 an hour starting pay for part-timers, and called UPS feeder drivers lazy. But he hiked his own salary by $41,000. Should officials who bargain concessions and impose them after members vote No get that kind of raise?
Ernie Soehl got the difficult job of Freight Director, after former Freight Director Tyson Johnson was defeated in the 2016 IBT election. He is now bargaining with YRC, Holland and New Penn on behalf of 24,000 Teamsters who are working under slashed wages and benefits. In 2017, Soehl got a raise of over $62,000.
Click here to find last year's report.