August 24, 2012: The International Union has been required by the NLRB to post notices that the IBT will cease harassing union organizers for joining a union. The notice includes that the IBT will not tell them they will no longer be Teamsters if they join a union, or that they will be laid off or that they cannot wear a union pin.

A majority of IBT organizers voted to form a union and are seeking to get "just cause" protection. So far the IBT has refused to negotiate.

A copy of the NLRB notice is here.

June 22, 2012: Organizers employed by the International union have voted to unionize, and on June 21 the NLRB regional director ruled that the objections to the vote by the Hoffa administration lack merit. 

On May 29 the vote count was 18-16 in favor of FAIR, the Federation of Agents and International Representatives. The International union then filed exceptions to the vote with the NLRB, claiming that five ballots were not received in the mail. However, it was the Hoffa administration which insisted on a strict ballot deadline.

Now that the NLRB regional director has made a decision, it is not clear if the Hoffa administration will continue to appeal the certification of the unionization vote. The organizers’ union steering committee issued a statement saying it is time to “come together for the greater good of all of us and the great work we do as Teamsters.”

Hoffa operatives fought hard against the unionization effort. They refused a request to remain neutral or agree to card-check. They held one-on-one meetings and issued nasty warnings that those in favor of unionizing were disloyal and would not be welcomed by Teamster locals during organizing drives.

There has been a lot of dissent among organizers and other IBT staff regarding favoritism, pay disparity and complaints about political hacks being promoted. The organizers’ main goal is to obtain “just cause” protection regarding discharge.

June 12, 2012: Organizers employed by the International union have voted to unionize, in order to bargain with the Hoffa administration. On May 29 the vote count was 18-16 in favor of FAIR, the Federation of Agents and International Representatives.

The International union has filed exceptions to the vote with the NLRB, claiming that five ballots were not received in the mail. However, it was the Hoffa administration which insisted on a strict ballot deadline.

Hoffa operatives fought hard against the unionization effort. They refused a request to remain neutral or agree to card-check. They held one-on-one meetings and issued nasty warnings that those in favor of unionizing were disloyal and would not be welcomed by Teamster locals during organizing drives.

There has been a lot of dissent among organizers and other IBT staff regarding favoritism, pay disparity and complaints about political hacks being promoted, so the unionization is the result. The organizers expect their union to be certified soon, and hope that the Hoffa administration will meet and bargain.

June 1, 2012: Our newest Teamster local has been put into trusteeship. Local 2010 is the Coalition of University Employees, which affiliated with the Teamsters in 2010. CUE represents nearly 14,000 employees throughout ten campuses of the University of California.

The problems with the union are long standing. Active members have repeatedly informed the International union that the union is dysfunctional. The question is, why did Hoffa wait two years to take action?

The trusteeship hearing was initiated just as a local union election was scheduled, so the effect has been to delay democracy in this local. In his letter announcing the trusteeship, Hoffa acknowledged that petitions and members at the trusteeship hearing “generally advocated conducting an election of officers within a relatively short period of time.”

Hoffa should live up to that membership request. These Teamsters deserve a chance to elect their own officers and rebuild a strong union for the clerical and allied workers who run the country’s largest university system.

May 25, 2012: In May the Hoffa administration signed a national contract in the pipeline industry that lets all construction contractors pull out of the Central States fund.

The deal establishes a new company plan, just as Hoffa and Hall let UPS start a company plan in 2008.

Unlike other Teamsters, pipeline Teamsters don't have the right to vote on their contract. The IBT Constitution contains a loophole that lets local union leaders approve national contracts in this industry.

It has become clear that the Hoffa administration is giving up on the Teamster multi-employer pension funds, starting with the ones started by Hoffa's father—the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Fund.

It's up to Teamster members and local union leaders to turn that around. Although so far the biggest attack—and union retreat—has focused on Central States, consider this: When the employers get their way with that fund, will they come after all our union pension funds?

For other pension news, visit the Pensions page.

March 9, 2012: Hoffa has appointed Rome Aloise as the Director of the Teamsters Dairy and Food Processing Divisions.

Aloise replaces Fred Gegare who retired from his Teamster positions after running for General President in 2011 against Hoffa.

Aloise will now collect four Teamster salaries as an International Union Vice President for the Western Region, Joint Council 7 President, Secretary Treasurer of Local 853 in San Leandro, Calif., and now Teamsters Dairy and Food Processing Division Director.

September 20, 2011: Hoffa’s surprise announcement at UPS isn’t the first time that he’s made empty promises to Teamster voters to try to get elected.

Hoffa has a history of promising big. The Hoffa election year playbook is to talk big before the ballots go out and to settle short after the votes are counted.

He’s done it every year that he’s run for office.

2006 UPS Freight Sellout

In 2006, Hoffa and Hall told delegates at the Teamster Convention that they’d sealed a deal to unionize UPS Freight.

After the election, it came out that the UPS Freight deal would not go into effect until after Hoffa and Hall signed a concessionary contract at UPS—including letting UPS pull out of Central Sates and eliminated the Article 22.3 clause that required the company to create new full-time combo jobs.

After the election, we learned the Hoffa-Hall card-check neutrality agreement applied only to members at one UPS Freight terminal in Indianapolis. UPS Freight Teamsters got stuck with a substandard contract and never even got to negotiate work rules as promised in that agreement. But by then, the votes were counted.

2001 “That I Promise You, That Will Happen”

In 2001, Hoffa gave his famous, “That I Promise You, That Will Happen” speech. Hoffa guaranteed a series of promises that he promptly broke after the ballots were counted, including:

Hoffa Promise: “If I am elected, we will defeat Overnite.” Instead, Hoffa pulled the plug on the strike and left Overnite workers high and dry for seven years.

Hoffa Promise: “I will end government control of the Teamsters Union.” Instead, Hoffa’s own anti-corruption director Ed Stier resigned after Hoffa blocked his investigations into corruption in Chicago. After that, the government was in our union to stay.

Hoffa also promised to win the “best contract(s) in Teamster history” in UPS and freight. Instead, the contracts he negotiated delivered the worst pension cuts in Teamster history.

Click here to watch Hoffa lie to Teamster members.

1996

Hoffa started his career as a Teamster presidential candidate the same way he’s ending it—lying to the members.

In the 1996 campaign, Hoffa promised to cut n cap his salary at $150,000. Instead, Hoffa gave himself a raise and has raised his salary ever year since. Last year he got $368,000, including a lucrative “housing allowance.”

In 1996, Hoffa promised “No Dues Increase.” Instead, he called a Special Convention and pushed through the biggest increase in Teamster history--and denied members a vote on his dues hike.

Hoffa promised to deliver a Real 25 & Out Pension to every Teamster. Instead, tens of thousands of Teamsters have lost the 25 & Out pensions they enjoyed for years until Hoffa came along.

Fool Me Once…

In an election year, there’s an easy way to tell when Hoffa is lying: his lips are moving.

Teamster members have learned this the hard way. And they won’t be fooled again.

September 20, 2011: Some pretty weird things happen in election campaigns. But how about a “tough” official in the Hoffa camp inventing a story that he was mauled by the wife of a Teamster member and needs police protection?

Los Angeles Local 396 president Jay Phillips did just that. The Election Supervisor investigated a protest by David Hoffa and ruled that the charges are a hoax, then issued a fine against Phillips for the fabrication.

Lesson for the Hoffa campaign: don’t lie when your actions have been caught on videotape.

The incident happened at Bally’s Casino, during the Las Vegas Teamster Convention on June 28. Phillips claimed to the Election Supervisor and in court documents that he was jumped, clawed, jumped on his back, his arms were bent back, his head was pulled and repeatedly slapped, he was held by the neck—all by one Teamster wife!

He even falsely claimed that two Local 396 business agents had to come to his rescue and pry this attack-lady off of him before he was seriously mauled.

Unfortunately for Phillips and for the Hoffa protest, casinos have lots of cameras, and multiple camera angles caught the incident, proving that none of those things happened. Actually, the woman, who has known Phillips for years, grabbed his arm to get his attention, then they exchanged angry words.

The Election Supervisor fined Phillips $500 for false charges and required Local 396 to post a notice of the fabrication on all its bulletin board.

Phillips, who is a lawyer, when confronted with the video evidence by the Election Supervisor, continued to try to maintain his lies. Phillips filed a lawsuit, ran to the Vegas police to get a restraining order (does he really cower in fear of her?), and involved the two business agents in submitting sworn affidavits which are false.

In Vegas, you are supposed to know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em!

To see the whole fantasy of the imaginary attack wife, you can read the Election Supervisor’s decision regarding the Hoffa protest here.

David Hoffa has appealed the decision to the Election Appeals Master. In his Sept. 13 appeal, Hoffa claims that having a female grab Phillips’ arm in the casino was such a “terrifying, bewildering, confusing event” that he made up all those stories and affidavits and court filings, and he didn’t mean to lie or perjure himself.

UPDATED

Judge Conboy, the Election Appeals Master, promptly threw out Hoffa's appeal. He stated in his BRIEF DECISION "the less said about this deplorable case the better."

UPDATED September 20, 2011: Hoffa operative Jay Phillips claimed he was assaulted by a Teamster member’s wife—and even went to the police. But an investigation by the Election Supervisor reveals the charges were a Hoffa campaign hoax.

Lesson for the Hoffa Campaign. Don’t lie when your actions have been caught on videotape.

The charges stem from an incident at Bally’s Casino, during the Las Vegas Teamster Convention on June 28. Phillips, who is the president of Los Angeles Local 396, claimed to the Election Supervisor and in court documents that he was jumped, clawed, slapped, his arms were bent back, he was held by the neck – all by one Teamster wife!

He even falsely claimed that two Local 396 business agents had to come to his rescue and pry the attack-lady off of him before he was seriously mauled.

Unfortunately for Phillips and for the Hoffa Campaign, casinos have lots of cameras, and multiple camera angles caught the incident, proving that none of these things happened.

David Hoffa filed an election protest. Phillips filed a lawsuit, ran to the Vegas police to get a restraining order, and involved the two business agents in submitting sworn affidavits which were false.

In a September 11 decision, the Election Supervisor fined Phillips $500 for false charges and required Local 396 to post a notice of the fabrication on all its bulletin boards.

Phillips, who is a lawyer, when confronted with the video evidence by the Election Supervisor, continued to try to maintain his lies.

In Vegas, you are supposed to know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em!

For the whole strange tale, you can read the decision regarding the Hoffa protest.

Hoffa has appealed the decision to the Election Appeals Master.

UPDATE

Judge Conboy, the Election Appeals Master, promptly threw out Hoffa's appeal. He stated in his brief decision "the less said about this deplorable case the better."

April 1, 2011: James Hoffa today, appearing on The View, admitted that he was actually adopted, and is not the son of James R. "Jimmy" Hoffa.

Hoffa, sobbing as he departed from remarks held up on cue cards by his Assistant, Leo Deaner, told Barbara Walters: "I can't keep it up, the lie that I am the son of Jimmy Hoffa.

"He built the Central States Pension Fund. I gave it away. He build the master freight contract. I wrecked it. He worked hard for members, I golf with their employers. I ask that God forgive me. And maybe some working Teamsters will too. A few at least."

Walters then gave him a hug, and offered him a job as a guest host. Hoffa, still sobbing, asked if it paid more than the $368,000 he got from Teamsters members last year.

Walters said "I'll get back to you on that."

It all happened on April 1, also known as April Fools Day.