July 21, 2009: Fed up with contract givebacks, benefit cuts & empty promises, members are launching a movement to elect new leaders and set a new course for our Teamsters Union.

As we go to press, 50,000 freight Teamsters at Yellow-Roadway Corp. (YRC) are voting on whether to accept the worst concessions in Teamster history.

If accepted, the givebacks will bring wage and benefit concessions at YRC to $11 an hour—and freeze members’ pensions through the end of 2010.

There is a growing sense that our union needs new leadership to rebuild Teamster Power.

That conviction doesn’t end with YRC or the freight industry.

Hundreds of thousands of Teamsters are fed up—including many local officers. The Hoffa camp has never been more discouraged or divided.

But anger alone won’t be enough to get rid of Hoffa. It will take organization.

That’s why TDU is launching 10,000 Teamsters to Dump Hoffa.

The campaign to elect new International Union leaders will begin next summer. We have one year to build the campaign army it will take to win.

It comes down to simple math. It will take just 175,000 votes to win the next IBT election. A campaign army of 10,000 Teamsters can make it happen.

The Hoffa road is at a dead end. It’s time for Teamster members to take the wheel and set a new course for our union.

Click here to check out the Teamster election timeline and what it will take to win the election for top Teamster officers.

Click here to join the campaign army of Teamsters working together to elect new officers at the International Union.

Click here download the Dump Hoffa leaflet.

The election to Dump Hoffa begins sooner than you think.

What will it take to win—and how can we get started now?

Hoffa’s support has never been lower among working Teamsters:

• He negotiated the worst concessions to UPS in decades, even though the company was making more than $4 billion in annual profits.
• Under his watch, our union has been reduced to a shadow of its former self in freight, carhaul, and other industries. Employers are calling the shots and dictating concessions.
• He raised Teamster dues, then used it to pay multiple salaries to his political allies. In 2007, the IBT paid out $9.9 million in multiple salaries to 196 officials—up from just 16 when Hoffa took office.

Hundreds of thousands of Teamsters are angry—including many local officers. The Hoffa camp has never been more divided.

But anger alone won’t be enough to get rid of Hoffa. It will take organization.

A Campaign Army

• To win, we’ll need a campaign army made up of working Teamsters, retirees, and Teamster officers to: u Nominate a slate of capable reform candidates at the Teamster Convention.
• Spread the word to members about the campaign and make sure reform candidates have access to the Teamster magazine and membership list.
• Raise campaign funds.
• Turn out the vote and win.
• We have to start putting that army together now to hit the ground running once the election is underway.

That’s why this month Teamsters are launching a campaign to build a network of 10,000 Teamsters to Dump Hoffa.

How the Election Works

In 1989, TDU members won the right to vote for Teamster General President and the General Executive Board.

Unlike most local union elections, this election is overseen by an impartial Election Supervisor.

The Election Supervisor makes the rules, handles all election protests, runs a debate between the candidates, mails out the ballots, and counts the votes.

First Steps

The first jobs for the campaign army will be the petition drive and delegate elections.

During the petition drive members fan out across the union to get members to sign a petition accrediting candidates for Teamster office. To get accreditation, two and a half percent of Teamster members must sign the candidate’s petition.

An accredited candidate gets access to the Teamster membership list and space in the union magazine—giving them a chance to talk to all Teamster members directly.

After that come the delegate elections.

Every local sends delegates to the Teamster Convention to nominate the candidates who will run for Teamster General President, and members of the General Executive Board.

If rank-and-file members decide to run for delegate, members of the local will get to vote for the delegates of their choice in a secret ballot election overseen by the Election Supervisor.

To get nominated for Teamster General President, a candidate has to receive the votes of at least five percent of the delegates to the convention.

Getting Out the Vote

In the 2006 election, Hoffa was elected with 175,000 votes. That means we will need the organization to turn out at least 200,000 Teamsters to vote for change to get him out.

Where we had a strong campaign organization last time, reform candidates won, including in St. Louis, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Houston, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Mississippi, Charlotte, Vermont, Seattle, Oregon, UPS locals in New York, Chicago and Detroit, and in lots of locals and areas.

More Teamsters turned out to vote in locals where TDU had strong organization and where reform candidates did well.

Among members with little or no connection to the International Union, and where there was not a strong TDU network, Hoffa won easily.

That was Hoffa’s winning margin: less involved members, in a low turnout.

What You Can Do Now

We can’t wait until the election starts to build our campaign army.

If you want to see Hoffa gone in 2011, now is the time to get on board and get involved. Here’s what you can do.

Fill out the form on the back page of the latest Convoy and join 10,000 Teamsters to Dump Hoffa. Send it in to TDU so that we know we can count on you to do your part to dump Hoffa in 2011.

Recruit to the campaign army. Make copies of the form on the back page of this issue of Convoy and get other Teamsters to sign up for our team. Go to dump Hoffa to download a form you can get other Teamsters to sign.

Start distributing Convoy. In every Teamster election, reform candidates do better in locals where members get and distribute bundles of Convoy. Call TDU at (313) 842-2600 to start a bundle with this issue.

Hold a meeting. Contact TDU and set up a meeting of members who want to Dump Hoffa in 2011.

Start planning for the delegate election. Start putting together a team of people you can count on. Contact TDU for steps you should take now to prepare to run for delegate. And be sure to attend the TDU Convention, Nov. 6-8 at the Cleveland Airport Sheraton to meet members who’ve run for delegate before—and won.

Can we get rid of Hoffa in 2011? It’s up to Teamsters like us to make it happen.

The campaign for Teamster General President will begin next summer. Now is the time to start getting ready. Please note: dates are based on 2006 election and haven’t been officially set yet.

Petition Drive Summer 2010

Two and a half percent of Teamster members must sign petitions to accredit reform candidates, giving them access to the Teamster membership list and space in the Teamster magazine.

Delegate Elections January - April 2011 (some early ones in Fall 2010)

Members get a chance to elect delegates to represent their local at the Teamster Convention.

Teamster Convention June 2011

Delegates nominate candidates for Teamster General President and the General Executive Board. Reform candidates must receive five percent of the votes to be nominated.

Ballots Mailed October 2011

Volunteers and candidates reach out to supporters to get out the vote.

Vote Count November 2011

June 18, 2009: The assault on Local 82 members and their seniority rights continues. "Hoffa appointee John Perry and Local 82 enforcer Joseph "JoJo" Burhoe.

John Perry is at it again. The principal officer of Boston Local 82 and the director of the International Union’s Trade Show Division has forced through another contract that guts the seniority rights of Boston trade show Teamsters, this time at Champion Exposition Services.

Critics charge that Perry is violating members’ seniority rights in order to funnel trade show jobs to a group of thugs with violent criminal records. In turn, the thugs provide Perry with muscle to control Local 82.

Perry is headed to court on July 22 for a hearing on charges that he assaulted a Teamster who filed a grievance to enforce members’ seniority rights. Local 82 enforcer Joseph “JoJo” Burhoe will face charges the same day for brutally assaulting a Local 82 member who criticized Perry.

The full story about Perry and his Boston Goon Squad were previously reported by TDU in Thugs Run Amok in Local 82 and in the Boston Herald.

New Attack on Seniority Rights

Perry is already under investigation by the Independent Review Board, the panel set up to investigate Teamster corruption. But that hasn’t slowed down his attack on members’ seniority rights.

Last month, Local 82 Teamsters at Champion voted to reject a proposed contract because it eliminated strong language that makes sure that senior employees don’t get passed over for work.

Instead of negotiating a new agreement that includes the seniority protections, Perry held a second vote on the same deal under circumstances that guaranteed the results Perry wanted.

Perry conducted his re-vote at an employer facility and played pick and choose with the balloting. Some supervisory personnel were given the green light to vote on the contract while other Local 82 members who work for Champion were denied their right to vote.

Perry’s Vote Till You Get It Right tactics worked and his contract passed. Members are challenging the vote and preparing internal union charges. Perry already faces internal union charges for negotiating a trade show agreement that gutted the seniority language at another company without even holding a proposal meeting.

In the meantime, Perry is now preparing to move against the seniority rights of Local 82 members at another trade show employer Freeman Decorating Company.

Hoffa Administration Must Act

As an IBT Division Director, Perry is supposed to coordinate our union’s efforts to defend members’ rights in the Trade Show industry—including seniority.

The “problem for Perry is that enforcing seniority rights would make it impossible for him to put his enforcers and friends to work while long-time Local 82 members sit at home. That’s why Perry has refused to process seniority grievances and is now moving to eliminate the language all together.

The Hoffa administration is more interested in protecting their political appointee, Perry, than in protecting Local 82 members and their rights. But the scandal has gone too far. Anti-union forces who would love to take advantage of this scandal to weaken Teamster members’ rights in the Boston trade show industry.

Media stories on Perry’s goon squad make it sound like all Local 82 trade show Teamsters are dangerous criminals who pose a threat to the public.

To try to defend himself, Perry has told the media, “What’s wrong with trying to provide jobs” to people with criminal records?

The answer is: nothing. The problem in the Boston trade show industry is not anyone’s past criminal record, but the criminal behavior that is happening right now—including Perry’s.

The goon tactics need to stop. Seniority needs to be maintained in Local 82 contracts. And members’ rights to a voice in bargaining and fair contract votes must be enforced.

None of this will happen while John Perry and his crew remain in power in Local 82. The International Union needs to act now.

May 22, 2009: Hoffa’s Trade Show Director John Perry is in court on charges of assaulting a Teamster member for filing a grievance.

JoJo Burhoe and International VP John MurphyWill Hoffa take a stand against violence and for seniority rights in the Trade Show industry?

As an IBT Division Director, John Perry is supposed to coordinate our International Union’s efforts to defend Teamster members’ rights in the Trade Show industry.

Instead, Perry faces criminal charges for assaulting a Teamster who filed a grievance to enforce members’ seniority rights. The assault is part of a wider pattern of violent intimidation in Boston Local 82.

Critics charge that Perry has made a devil’s pact with a group of thugs with violent criminal records who provide Perry with muscle to control Local 82 and intimidate Teamster members in exchange for lucrative jobs at Boston trade shows.

At the center of the controversy is Joseph “JoJo” Burhoe, whose extensive rap sheet includes a conviction for armed bank robbery. Court documents reveal that Burhoe has served as an informant to the FBI since his release from prison.

Perry brought Burhoe into the local after a rank-and-file insurgency in the local union passed bylaws changes that transferred power from Perry to the union’s membership and nearly toppled Perry in a local union election.

Burhoe is once again a criminal defendant, this time on charges that he assaulted Local 82 member Eddie Flaherty—a rank-and-file critic of John Perry’s. The violent beating left Flaherty unconscious and hospitalized. Flaherty has left the Trade Show industry in fear of his personal safety.

Perry continues to appoint Burhoe as the contact person that Local 82 members must call to get work at trade show exhibitions.

The seniority rights of long-time Local 82 Teamster members get in the way of Perry’s scheme to get access to Trade Show jobs for thugs and their cronies. Perry’s solution has been to gut members’ seniority rights.

Local 82’s contracts have strong language that requires employers to give preferential hiring to workers who have experience in the Trade Show industry prior to 2003. The language is legal and the traditional mechanism used by unions to help make sure that senior employees don’t get passed over for work.

For years, Perry has refused to enforce the seniority provisions in the contract—called the “2003 language.” Now, Perry is trying to bargain away the seniority language altogether. But Local 82 members are fighting back.

Members Stand Up For Seniority

Members at Freeman Decorating Company voted to reject contracts negotiated by Perry that eliminated the 2003 seniority language.

Following that vote, Perry took no chances on the contract vote at Greyhound Exposition Services (GES), another major Trade Show employer. Perry stationed JoJo Burhoe, Jimmy “The Bull” Deamicis and a police officer outside the door of the union hall. Only members approved by Burhoe or Deamicis were allowed to enter the hall to vote on their contract. With the vote stacked, the GES contract passed—minus the 2003 seniority language.

But Local 82 members aren’t giving up. On May 20, Trade Show Teamsters voted to reject the proposed contract at Champion Exposition Services because the 2003 seniority language has been removed.

Perry Faces Assault Charges

Meanwhile, Perry faces charges that he assaulted Local 82 member Jimmy Lee in retaliation for filing a grievance on a violation of the 2003 seniority language.

According to the complaint against Perry, he assaulted Lee the day after a seniority grievance was turned in.

Perry has been arraigned for assault and has a pretrial hearing scheduled for June 11. Public documents reveal that Boston police have rescinded the licenses to carry firearms from Perry and Local 82 President Pat Geary and confiscated their guns.

Hoffa Needs To Act

The Independent Review Board (IRB), the panel set up to investigate Teamster corruption, is interviewing members. Their investigation is long overdue. The assault against Flaherty took place more than a year and a half ago. Lee charged Perry with assault more than six months ago.

If the Hoffa administration is serious about acting against corruption and protecting Teamster contracts, they will not wait on the IRB to take action.

It is hard for our International Union to credibly make the case that the government is no longer needed in our union when our union takes no action to investigate charges of violent intimidation of Teamster members by a top Hoffa appointee.

Perry is on Hoffa’s payroll to the tune of $59,955 last year as the IBT Trade Show Director. He bagged a total of $186,963 in Teamster salaries last year.

By failing to act, the Hoffa administration is helping anti-union forces who would love to take advantage of the scandal to undermine Teamster organizing drives or use the allegations of violence in Local 82 to weaken Teamster members’ rights in the Boston Trade Show industry. Our union cannot allow that to happen.

The Hoffa administration needs to take action to preserve seniority language in our trade show contracts and decisively put an end to cronyism, violence and intimidation in Boston Local 82.

April 24, 2009: Is the Hoffa administration quietly raising the dues of road drivers without a vote? It looks that way.

“We got a pay cut, now our dues go up?! Maybe it’s time Hoffa and his appointees took a cut,” Cliff Roberts, YRC road driver in Local 407, told us.

Road drivers in Cleveland Local 407 have just been hit with a big dues hike this month, just three months after hundreds of them took a 10% pay cut because they work for YRC.

Frank Burdell, Local 407 president (and also on Hoffa’s payroll) issued a March 23 letter that Local 407 had a “directive from the IBT to calculate the effective hourly earnings rate using the members annual earnings for all Local 407 mileage drivers.”

Thus, instead of 2.5 hours pay, Burdell will estimate the average yearly gross income of road drivers, and base dues on that figure, resulting in a hefty dues hike.

Burdell refers in the Local 407 letter (which he declined to sign!) to the dues hike as merely an “inconvenience.”

If members take this lying down, you can bet that this sneaky dues hike will spread to tens of thousands of mileage-paid Teamsters, who work under freight, carhaul, UPS, tankhaul, grocery distribution, and various other contracts.

Violates Hoffa’s Own Guidelines

The dues hike explicitly violates the International Union’s own guidelines.

On June 12, 2002, the International Union issued guidelines which state that “For those members whose earnings are calculated on the basis of mileage, the equivalent hourly wage rate stated in the contract for work performed shall be used.” These guidelines were signed by General Secretary Treasurer Tom Keegel.

That’s the way it has always been since Hoffa increased dues to 2.5 hours pay at an IBT Special Convention in April 2002. Nothing has changed whatsoever in the IBT Constitution to warrant this hike.

Hoffa administration officials have given themselves raises and COLA increases every year. Now they want more money from drivers who are taking concessions. It comes down to greed. And whether or not members will say No.

Local 604 Says No

In January 2009 St. Louis Local 604 was apparently told to raise the dues of all of its carhaul drivers, using the same excuse.

Local 604 secretary treasurer John Thyer sent a letter to the International in January, informing them that Local 604 is in compliance with the constitution and 2002 guidelines, and sees no need to raise dues.

The International never bothered to reply to the letter. And Local 604 members have not had to pay any dues hike. (Information available at www.teamsters604.org)

Is Local 407 the “test case” to see if other Teamsters will take the dues hike lying down? If so, it’s time for locals and Teamsters to say No. It’s time for top Teamster officials to do the belt-tightening for a change.

Click here to see the Local 407 letter regarding an IBT directive to raise all mileage-paid Teamsters’ dues.

Click here to tell us what you think about this dues hike.

April 10, 2009: The LM-2 financial report for the International Union is now available. This report was filed with the U.S. Department of Labor on March 31, and covers the year 2008.

A quick review of the report indicates that:

• The union had a net loss of 22,000 members in 2008.
• Hoffa and other IBT officers received a substantial raise in salary.
• The IBT lost $47 million in assets during 2008. Spending exceeded income, there were losses in investments, and liabilities for officers’ pensions increased.

The Teamster Rank & File Education and Legal Defense Foundation (TRF) will conduct a study of union finances and officers salaries in the coming weeks and months. This will cover the locals and other Teamster affiliates as well as the International Union.

Click here to see the International Union’s 373-page LM-2 report, and for information on how to find out how much your local union spent on salaries and expenses last year.

By the Numbers

• $22,000 Net number of members the IBT lost in 2008
• $23,344 Raise given to Ken Hall, UPS Director, in 2008
• $47 million Assets lost by the IBT in 2008

April 1, 2009: The LM-2 financial report for the International Union is now available. This report was filed with the U.S. Department of Labor on March 31, and covers the year 2008.

A quick review of the report indicates that

• The union had a net loss of 22,000 members in 2008.
• Hoffa and other IBT officers received a substantial raise in salary.
• The IBT lost $47 million in assets during 2008. Spending exceeded income, there were losses in investments, and liabilities for officers’ pensions increased.

The Teamster Rank & File Education and Legal Defense Foundation (TRF) will conduct a study of union finances and officers salaries in the coming weeks and months. This will cover locals and other Teamster affiliates as well as the International Union.

Click here to see the International Union’s 373-page LM-2 report. You will need to select IBT-Teamsters on the Union Name menu, and International on the Union Type menu. Then click on Submit. You can also find the report for your local union there.

What do you think? Contact TDU.

March 18, 2009: President Hoffa has named Brad Slawson, Sr. to replace the only woman on our union’s top leadership.

Cheryl Johnson, the lone woman on the Teamster General Executive Board, is retiring and has resigned as a Central Region Vice President. Hoffa has appointed Slawson, the principal officer of Minneapolis Local 120, to replace her.

The General Executive Board is the highest leadership body in our union. It has 26 members: 25 white men and one African American man.

Ferline Buie, the head of Local 922, serves as an International Union Trustee, but she has no vote and is not a member of the General Executive Board.

Of 1.4 million Teamsters, could Hoffa not find a single woman to name to the leadership to represent women Teamsters?

Slawson, Sr. will be the second member of Minnesota Local 120 on the Board. The other is Secretary-Treasurer Tom Keegel.

TDU believes that our union leadership should reflect the membership and that a strong union involves everyone.

January 10, 2009: James Hoffa took office ten years ago, promising to Restore Teamster Power.

Instead, we’ve suffered a decade of decline.

How can working Teamsters get our union back on track?

It’s been ten years since James P. Hoffa took the oath of office as Teamster General President. Instead of delivering the Teamster Power he promised, Hoffa has managed our union through a decade of decline.

Hoffa promised “Real 25 & Out Pensions.” He delivered the biggest pension cuts in Teamster history. He gave the worst concessions to UPS in decades even though the company was making more than $4 billion in annual profits.

Our union has been reduced to a shadow of its former self in the freight and carhaul industries. Employers are calling all the shots and dictating whatever concessions they choose.

It would be foolish to blame every problem our union faces on Hoffa. The economic crisis means tough times for all of labor.

But ask yourself this: what kind of leadership do these times demand and what kind of leadership do we have?

The Hoffa administration failed to win strong contracts, protect our pensions, or organize the nonunion competition when times were good.

Do you think they have a plan to protect Teamster members and rebuild our union’s power now?

Our union is on the wrong road. It’s up to Teamster members to take the wheel and change the direction.

Teamsters for a Democratic Union is about uniting members to make that happen. And our movement is growing.

Freight Teamsters are getting involved because they’re concerned about the future of unionized trucking. UPSers, carhaulers, bus drivers, waste workers, and every kind of Teamster that wants to return our union to the members are coming together.

TDU isn’t growing because change is easy. We’re growing because change is needed. If you agree, then get involved.

What do you think we need to do to turn our union around? Click here to send us your ideas and opinions.

Find our more about TDU. Read more about who we are, what we've won, and where we stand.

Become a part of our movement. Click here to join TDU.

January 16, 2008: James Hoffa sent a memo to all local unions offering their officers the opportunity to get hotel rooms for the Presidential Inauguration, at local union expense. The cost to the local union: $3,201 per room.

Hoffa’s letter states that the union will not be able to provide tickets to the Inaugural or any other events, but they still anticipate a “large demand” from locals for the rooms.

President Obama’s inauguration is an historic occasion in America, and many Teamsters would love to be there. Some are going, at their own expense. But we hope that struggling local unions are not sending many officers on the union tab at this price.