August 8, 2006: James Hoffa officially ducked out of the August 25 debate between the two General President candidates, by notifying the Election Officer on August 7 that he would send his stand-in, Tom Keegel.

The debate will go forward in Washington DC on August 25, with an impartial moderator, questioners, and an audience of Teamsters. Thousands of DVDs will be made available to Teamsters for watching at home, and it will be available for downloading from the www.ibtvote.org and www.tdu.org.

TDU went to court last year to win the new Election Rule requiring a debate, and is now going back to court to try to make it an event that is useful for all Teamsters, and that will increase informed Teamster participation in our union.

TDU is calling for the DVD of the one-hour debate to be mailed to all Teamster members; it can be packaged with the Teamster magazine to eliminate any extra postage cost, and done very cost efficiently.

The IBT is planning to spend more money on “getting out the vote” programs than this one measure would cost, and it would do more to increase voter participation.

Click here: Leedham Campaign Response to Hoffa's Refusal to Debate

July 17, 2006: Hoffa is playing politics with UPS Bargaining and Overnite/UPS Freight.

“We won it—card check, neutrality. UPS Freight. Wow!”

Hoffa kicked off his reelection drive at the Teamster Convention by announcing that our union had won a card check agreement to organize UPS Freight (Overnite).

Hoffa waved a document to the crowd and declared, “This agreement between the Teamsters and UPS Freight is a letter for card check and neutrality at Overnite.”

The delegates at the Convention cheered, and rightly so. Organizing UPS Freight must be a top priority of our union. An agreement that protects the right of UPS Freight employees to freely join the Teamsters without union-busting harassment would be something to celebrate.

Hoffa wasn’t telling the full story about his deal with UPS management.

Hoffa did not reveal that the card check and neutrality agreement applies to only one out of more than 200 UPS Freight terminals.

That is not what most Teamsters understood when Hoffa stood on the Convention podium and puffed, “We won it—card check, neutrality. UPS Freight. Wow!”

Our union must win this organizing battle. It is critical to the future of Teamster bargaining power at UPS and in the freight industry. Failure is not an option. Every Teamster must pledge full support to this effort.

But to win, our leadership has to level with the membership. When it comes to organizing Overnite, Teamster members don’t need spin. We need the truth and a plan to win.

July 17, 2006: Do you want to see a change in leadership in the Teamsters? Beating Hoffa in the 2006 election will take two things: a strong reform slate and a well organized campaign network.

TDU is committed to making both of these happen and making sure Teamsters have a positive alternative to the failed administration that’s in power right now.

No reform slate has announced it is running for office. That needs to come together soon, but Teamster reform activists aren’t holding back. They’re laying the groundwork now for a successful challenge in next year’s election.

“We’ll need a strong reform slate with leaders who have a vision for rebuilding our union’s power,” said Sandy Pope, president of New York Local 805 and a member of the Committee for New Leadership. “But for that reform slate to win, they’ll need a strong campaign network behind them. The time to build that is now.”

What will it take to win in 2006 and what can we be doing now to get there?

Campaign Volunteers
Concerned members and local union officers are getting to work, holding local and regional events and pulling together campaign committees to win this election.

“There’s a lot of anger in New England with the pension cuts and mid-contract givebacks in our UPS supplement,” said Dave Whitney, a Boston Local 25 member. “We feel betrayed and we want Hoffa out. We’re holding a barbecue on Aug. 28 in Worcester to pull together New England Teamsters who want to back reform candidates.”

Money
There’s no getting around it. A reform campaign will need money for staff, campaign literature, candidate travel, and more. Hoffa won the last election by outspending the reform slate by 10 to 1. We’ll never match Hoffa dollar for dollar and we don’t need to. Grassroots campaigns win elections with sweat and hard work, not big cash and slick PR. But our campaign will need money, and it needs seed money to get started.

That’s why members are kicking off their fundraising efforts now.
“It’s going to take a real war chest to run a strong campaign in 2006,” said Greg Kujawa, a member of Minneapolis Local 638. “We’ll need to pony up some serious cash to support our candidates. In Minnesota, we plan to raise thousands and we’re getting started with a picnic fundraiser this summer.”

Delegates
To get on the ballot, reform candidates will need to be officially nominated by 5 percent of the delegates at the 2006 IBT Convention. In 2001, the Hoffa administration complained that there should not have been an election and tried to keep all opponents off the ballot by putting the squeeze on convention delegates.

That trick failed in 2001, but Hoffa is redoubling his efforts for next year. Local campaign committees are needed not just to get out the vote in the officers’ election, but to win local union delegate races so that reformers will be at the IBT Convention next June to nominate a reform slate.

For more information, contact the Committee for New Leadership, P.O. Box 3392, Bayonne, N.J. 07002, or via email at newleadership2006 [at] gmail.com

For more information:

Picnic to Build New England Campaign Network

Early IBT Delegate Elections Kick Off

April 22, 2006: Hoffa’s administration recently announced that our union will seek early negotiations with UPS. The Teamster officers and members I’ve talked to have all responded with the same questions. Why now? And what’s the plan to win?

These are good questions. And as usual, you won’t find the answers in Hoffa’s PR materials.

The press release says the IBT will push for early negotiations with UPS because “A recent statistical poll of UPS Teamsters shows that they have major concerns about health care and retirement security.”

Apparently, Hoffa is so out of touch that he needed a poll to tell him that members are worried about their benefits!

The truth is Hoffa was aware of the threat to Teamster benefits when he negotiated the last UPS contract. Months before he settled with UPS, Hoffa was warned that the Central States Pension would have to consider cuts unless the union negotiated sufficient increases in employer contributions. The report was buried and members were promised in writing that their benefits would be secure for the life of his six-year “Best Contract Ever.” Since then Teamsters across North America have faced the worst benefit cuts in our union’s history.

Other critical problems were also left unresolved. Like strong limits on excessive forced overtime and the right to organize UPS’s nonunion operations, which now include Overnite.

It’s not surprising that Hoffa’s “Best Contract Ever” failed to deliver what he promised. He gave up critical leverage by settling two weeks before the contract expired. As someone with 20 years of experience negotiating industry-leading contracts, I can tell you that’s not how you get the employer to put its best offer on the table.

Now Hoffa says he’ll get the job done through “early negotiations.” There’s been no indication whether the contract will be opened with the right to economic action by our union.

UPS management may be interested in early talks for its own reasons. UPS’s main rival FedEx plans a major expansion for 2008.

UPS may want an early deal to avoid negotiations and a potential work stoppage when FedEx is completing its expansion—especially a deal at the right price.

How short would Hoffa be willing to settle this time? The Hoffa administration’s statements on early negotiations don’t say a word about organizing UPS Freight—and winning card check recognition and management neutrality. Nor is there any mention of relief from excessive overtime, stronger protections against subcontracting and supervisors working, or other critical work rule issues.

Coming off the 1997 UPS strike, Hoffa had the strongest bargaining leverage we’ve ever had with the company. Why would anyone expect better results from Hoffa now when the pension cuts and the Overnite acquisition strengthen management’s hand?

The strange timing of Hoffa’s announcement has many members saying that Hoffa’s “campaign” to “force” UPS management into early negotiations is just an election year tactic. I’ll leave it to Teamsters to decide for themselves if Hoffa is playing politics with the UPS contract.

The bottom line is, whenever we begin negotiations with UPS, we need to do so from a position of strength. This contract belongs to Teamster members—not to any General President. We’ve all got to fight for it together. 

Tom Leedham
Local 276
Portland, OR

April 22, 2006: In June 2006, Teamsters from every local will meet in Las Vegas for the International Union Convention. If the 2001 convention is any guide, members should be wary of Hoffa’s glitzy Vegas lounge act.

In 2001, Hoffa controlled the vast majority of the delegates and they rubber-stamped his proposals. Speakers crowed that Hoffa unity had restored our power and would deliver huge improvements for Teamsters.

Tyson Johnson guaranteed “the best contract in history for our freight members.” Ken Hall bragged that at UPS, “We're going to finish in 2002 what we started in 1997.” Another Hoffa delegate boasted that because of Hoffa unity, “We will not lose our pensions. We will not lose our health and welfare to UPS.”

Hoffa declared, “I promise you that if reelected I will end government control of the Teamsters Union. That I promise you, that will happen.”
Hoffa also said, “I am not a man who makes idle threats, but today I promise you that if I am elected, we will defeat Overnite. That will happen.”

It was all great election-year theater. But once the ballots were counted, the script changed. Hoffa pulled the plug on the Overnite strike and on his anti-corruption program. He raised our dues without a vote. His “Best Contracts Ever” cut the pensions and benefits of hundreds of thousands of Teamsters.

Why Didn't Hoffa Unity Deliver?

Why did Hoffa’s unity fail to deliver the power he promised? More than 90 percent of the delegates backed Hoffa—many because they sincerely believed that uniting behind Hoffa would strengthen the union. So what happened?

What we all learned from 2001 was that it takes more than tough talk and rubber-stamp unity to beat the employers. It takes strong leadership, mobilized members and a plan to win. Some delegates tried to make this point in 2001.

After the Convention passed a unanimous resolution saying the union would “unite for victory” at UPS, Local 559 Secretary-Treasurer Tom Gilmartin proposed that the Convention “send a message of strength by building a strike fund to get ready to take UPS on with more than resolutions.”

Hoffa ignored Gilmartin and said, “Now we're moving on.” Instead of building a credible strike fund, he went on to settle the UPS contract two weeks early and set a pattern of weak national contracts that gutted members’ benefits.

What’s On Tap in 2006?

With the majority of delegates once again in his pocket, Hoffa plans to replay his Vegas lounge act this June.

Hoffa knows that Overnite, pension cuts, and declining union power have sunk his approval rating to an all-time low with Teamster members. He will pump out PR, videos, speeches and tough-talking resolutions—all funded with our dues dollars—to convince members that he is poised to take action.

We’ll be told that our union is launching campaigns to organize our nonunion competitors and to win a strong contract at UPS through early negotiations. We’ll be promised that Hoffa will fight for our pensions and health benefits at the bargaining table and in the halls of Congress.

Teamster members want and need our union to organize the unorganized, win strong contracts and fight for our benefits.

We have a responsibility to do our part and get involved to make that happen. In return, we have the right to expect our union leadership to present a clear plan to win—not just slogans.


Click here: Teamsters Will Have Choice in 2006

April 22, 2006: Delegate elections continue as Convoy goes to press, but one key outcome has already been decided. Tom Leedham will have the necessary votes to be nominated at the 2006 Teamster Convention.

“Teamsters will have a choice in the 2006 election thanks to the thousands of members who ran for delegate and supported delegate campaigns,” Leedham said.

Delegates who have pledged to nominate the Tom Leedham Slate come from every region and jurisdiction, including the recently merged unions.

“A growing number of Teamster leaders know that our union needs a change of direction if we’re going to meet the challenges we face. We will continue to reach out to Teamster officers and members who feel shut out by the Hoffa administration,” Leedham said.

The Hoffa Campaign coordinated a nationwide effort to deny members a choice—and openly bragged on their website about their efforts to keep the Leedham Slate off the ballot.

“Hoffa tried hard to block any election. He poured money into local delegate elections to keep any opposition off the ballot, but he failed,” said J. Dennis, a delegate from Kentucky Local 89, who will support the Tom Leedham Slate at the convention.

“The decision about our union’s direction and leadership will be where it belongs—in the members’ hands,” said Local 805 President Sandy Pope, a candidate for Vice President At-Large.

I Supported Hoffa But His Leadership Has Failed “I supported Hoffa at the last convention. The idea was to strengthen the union by all of us coming together. But uniting behind Hoffa didn’t put more power behind the locals or the members. Instead, it’s become all about Hoffa and the top officials in his administration—not about the union or the members. “We have failed in our mission since 2001 because of a lack of leadership from the top. A real leader brings people together and makes a team. Jimmy Hoffa thinks Teamster leadership is about him pretending to be his daddy. He’s got a politician’s mentality, a celebrity mentality—not a Teamster mentality. “Hoffa has no relationship with the membership or the local officers he’s supposed to be leading. He’s too busy talking to consultants to talk to a Teamster. Membership apathy is at an all-time high in this union because Teamsters aren’t given any real role in our union. That’s what’s giving employers the upper hand. “Hoffa can put on whatever show he wants in Vegas. Teamster members will tell you they’ve had enough of Hoffa’s act and so will most officers when they’re talking to you on the level. Our job at the convention is to give members a choice in the election. I’m confident they’ll set our union on a new course come November.” John Thyer, Candidate Central Region Vice President Secretary-Treasurer, St. Louis Local 604

Click here: Hoffa's Vegas Lounge Act

April 22, 2006: The United Teamsters Against Hoffa Slate swept all six positions in the convention delegate race in Pontiac, Mich. Local 614—the home local of General President James Hoffa.

Hoffa hand-picked Local 614 and transferred his membership there because he considered it safe territory. But Teamsters have turned against Hoffa in his adopted home local.

“It’s time for Jimmy to get out of there. We need a union man running our International, not a lawyer who’s never made a living driving a truck or working on a dock or doing other Teamster work,” said Robert Tibbals, a USF Holland road driver and elected delegate on the UTAH Slate.

Hoffa’s defeated slate was led by International Representative Earl Walker and Karen Lankford, the Hoffa 2006 Campaign Treasurer.

Key issues on the UTAH platform were pension cuts and the dues increase. But this is one race where the slate name defined what was at stake in the race.

Hoffa’s own local is carried by a slate called United Teamsters Against Hoffa. It doesn’t get any clearer than that.

Check out the Tom Leedham Strong Contracts, Good Pensions Website at www.leedham2006.org.

April 22, 2006: A slate of working Teamsters swept the delegate race in Memphis Local 667, defeating Hoffa running mate and International Union Trustee Henry Perry.

Hoffa aggressively backed his running mate, endorsing him in a glossy campaign mailer that was sent to every Local 667 member. But Hoffa’s support proved to be the kiss of death.

Three of the four members of the losing slate are Hoffa appointees.

“Teamsters here in Memphis don’t want Hoffa or anyone associated with him” said K.W. Phillips, a Roadway driver and newly elected convention delegate. “They thought that Hoffa’s support would boost him up. Instead it dragged them down.”

April 22, 2006: “Rail engineers and trainmen face vicious attacks from their employers. If we’re going to meet the challenges we face in the rail industry, then we must make change in our union,” said Ed Michael, a Union Pacific rail engineer and Teamster in the BLET.

Michael, a member of the TDU International Steering Committee, was recently elected convention delegate along with alternate delegate Brad Thompson.

Rail Teamsters are up against the most serious threats ever to their job security—from job-killing remote control technology to an employer drive to limit staffing to one crew member. Employers are also pushing to slash members’ benefits.

“When our union merged with the Teamsters two years ago, members like myself hoped that Teamster Power would give us the strength we needed at the bargaining table and in Washington,” Michael said. “But the carriers have handed us the nastiest contract proposals ever, and our leadership can’t seem to muster up a fight. The potential for power is there, but right now it is being squandered away.”

Michael supports a grassroots initiative to give engineers and trainmen the Right to Vote for the national officers of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen.

“We’re also looking ahead to the IBT election and the chance to elect Tom Leedham,” Michael said. “We must have leaders who will fight hard against our employers’ vicious attacks.”

March 16, 2006: This is a pivotal time for all of us. Perhaps the most crucial decision we will make as Teamsters is the choice we make in the upcoming election for General President of the IBT. That person will be responsible for, among other things, negotiating the next UPS contract and National Master Freight Agreement.

Both have trickle-down effects on every other Teamster contract that is negotiated. It is imperative that James Hoffa not be that person. A look at what happened to nearly 2000 Red Star Teamsters tells you why. Bear in mind that Yellow Roadway Corp. (YRC) and Bill Zollars will be negotiating for four of the five freight companies left in the National Master Freight Agreement.

Consider how USF transformed USF Red Star into USF Holland, and how that will impact your contracts and working conditions in the future. USF Red Star closed and reemerged shortly after as USF Holland. Unfortunately, what didn’t reemerge was close to 2,000 Teamster jobs. Despite promises to the contrary, when the dust settled the IBT recouped only around 20 percent of those Red Star jobs. In addition to that, our contract was replaced by Holland’s oppressive work rules. What do those work rules mean to you?

Well, if you work on the road for Yellow, Roadway or New Penn you just might have to get accustomed to sleeping out five to seven consecutive days. If you are a straight dock man, then you may be out of a job. If you are a city driver, get used to working the dock for three to four hours before you hit the street.

YRC owns USF Holland; to think that they wouldn’t want those same advantages is foolish. And, although Hoffa and Tyson Johnson vowed to “fight” for us, it seemed like they were more interested in accommodating the company. If they “fight” for you the same way, get used to working conditions that are substandard to even nonunion companies.

Red Star Teamsters were left to fight for ourselves. We filed a WARN Act lawsuit and unfair labor practice charges against USF when it was clear to us that Hoffa had abandoned us. We recently won a $7 million settlement for the members from USF and YRC from that lawsuit. Then, Hoffa shamefully took credit for the efforts of the rank and file.

To read more about what could be your future, go to: www.redstarteamsters.com We need strong leadership that will stand up to YRC, UPS and other companies, not a president who will placate these corporate giants, and in doing so sell out the membership. We need a president with integrity and compassion for the members, as well as passion for the job. What we need is a president who will lead, instead of being led.

These characteristics and attributes describe Tom Leedham. He will inspire and rejuvenate the membership and replace the apathy that has gripped every local with a renewed sense of pride. Leedham will also reestablish and demand respect for Teamsters at the workplace, where—under Hoffa—management abuse of members has apparently become commonplace. Also, the stagnation of the growth of our union is rivaled only by the almost nonexistent increase in our rates of pay. Things must change now, before it is to late!