June 17, 2008: International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa has placed Chicago-based Local 714 under the control of a trustee, alleging that local leaders maintain contact with barred individuals and operate nepotistic work assignment systems, IBT officials said June 16.

Hoffa's action comes nearly 10 months after the Independent Review Board, the court-supervised panel charged with drumming corruption out of the Teamsters, suggested similar action with respect to Local 714 (211 DLR A-8, 11/1/07). Hoffa declined to place the local under the control of a trustee immediately, choosing instead to appoint a "personal representative" to address problems highlighted by the IRB.

But in a June 9 letter to members of Local 714, Hoffa said his personal representative had been unable to implement several critical reforms. Without an immediate trusteeship, Hoffa said associations between key local officials and a permanently barred ex-Teamsters official likely would continue and members participating in one of the local's health funds could suffer "irreparable harm."

"It became very clear that this situation was not going to change so he decided to implement an immediate trusteeship," Teamsters spokesman Leigh Strope told BNA June 16. "President Hoffa had given the local reasonable opportunities to work with his representative before taking this action."

Hoffa appointed Terry Hancock, president of Local 731, as temporary trustee. In addition, he appointed Brian Rainville, Becky Strzechowski, and Thomas Stiede as temporary assistant trustees. Hoffa also announced that he would hold hearings to determine whether the trusteeship should be extended or dissolved.

With more than 10,000 members, Local 714 represents workers in the metal industry, pharmacists, and deputies in the Office of the Cook County Sheriff. Until recently, the local also represented workers in the movie and trade show industries. Local 714 previously was placed under the control of a trustee. In 1996, former Teamsters president Ron Carey imposed a trusteeship that ran through 1998.

John J. Cronin Jr., chief administrator of the IRB, expressed support for Hoffa's decision. Cronin told BNA June 16 the trusteeship demonstrates the union's commitment to comply with the 1989 consent decree that established federal oversight of the Teamsters.

Continuing Contacts With Banned Ex-President

In his letter, Hoffa noted that the IRB recommended a trusteeship for Local 714 on Aug. 30, 2007. At that time the board pointed to continued local contacts with William Hogan, who served as president of the local in the early 1990s but was removed during the 1996 trusteeship. William Hogan, who at one time ran for secretary-treasurer of the international union on the same ticket as Hoffa, eventually was banned from the union entirely by the IRB. That ban was upheld in federal court five years ago (167 DLR A-6, 8/28/03).

The IRB expressed concerns that Robert "Bobby" Hogan, Local 714's principal officer and William Hogan's son, and James Hogan, Local 714's president and William Hogan's brother, had jeopardized the interests of the local by hiring Robert Riley as business agent and director of organizing. The IRB faulted Bobby Hogan and William Hogan for failing to monitor and discipline Riley, who had continuous business contact with William Hogan. Riley has been a close personal friend of William Hogan for more than 50 years.

The IRB's Cronin noted that Bobby Hogan currently faces disciplinary charges relating to his failure to monitor, investigate, and prevent contact between his father and Riley. Hoffa imposed a six-month suspension on Bobby Hogan on Dec. 13, 2007. The IRB rejected the suspension as "inadequate" and took up its own review of Bobby Hogan. Cronin said the Bobby Hogan case has been fully briefed and is now in the hands of the three-person board. He declined to predict a timeline for a decision in the matter.

"The decision is with the board members, but there is a lot of material to go through as you can imagine," he said.

The IRB also accused Local 714 of failing to perform its duty as the bargaining agent for Teamsters working at five metal companies. Hoffa noted that the IRB had found that substantial bargaining unit work was being done by temporary and nonunion workers "in circumstances which suggested corrupt dealings with these companies."

Charges of Favoritism, Nepotism

Finally the IRB faulted Local 714 for fostering "favoritism and nepotism" within its lucrative trade show and movie sector. Robert Hogan and James Hogan were specifically accused of operating a referral system designed to benefit friends and members of their extended family. This type of chronic nepotism was also a key factor in the 1996 trusteeship.

In his letter, Hoffa said his representative continues to see problems at Local 714 on all three issues. Hoffa specifically noted that certain officers and employees of the local continue to have contact with William Hogan and Bobby Hogan. Contact with Bobby Hogan is currently inappropriate in light of his six-month suspension from the union.

Hoffa noted that his representative had attempted to move jurisdiction for the movie and trade show sector to Local 727 in an effort to curtail the nepotism problems cited by the IRB. However, he said Local 714's officers and employees have worked to undermine that effort and actually "sought to hold hostage certain assets of the Local 714 health fund" which were being shifted to the Local 727 health fund. Hoffa said the movie and trade show workers health benefits would be in danger of "irreparable harm" without the emergency trusteeship.

BNA was unable to reach Bobby Hogan or William Hogan for comment on the trusteeship.

Video Reveals Hogan Family's Views

However the Web site Teamsterinjustice.com, which focuses on William Hogan's views on the Teamsters, castigates efforts by the IRB and the Teamsters to reform Local 714.

In a brief video, Bobby Hogan complains that he is being disciplined by the IRB for failing to fire his father's best friend of 55 years. He calls the IRB's processes an abuse of free speech and an effort to undermine the rights of working people. William Hogan's wife Ginny Hogan also offers a tearful defense of her son following an IRB hearing in May.

"Now they're picking on my Bobby for no reason whatsoever," Ginny Hogan said. "Bob Riley has been my friend for 50 years too. Isn't he allowed to call us? I don't understand this. Where is our freedom of speech?"

The Hogan family's video can be viewed at http://teamsterinjustice.com/2008/05/09/movie/.

By Michael Bologna

June 13, 2008: For the second time, Teamsters union officials have taken Local 714 out of the hands of a member of the Hogan family.

Saying the heads of the influential 10,000-member organization had rebuffed efforts of an official sent to work with them in September, Teamsters Union President James P. Hoffa this week imposed an emergency trusteeship over the local.

Click here to read more at chicagotribune.com.

June 12, 2008: On June 9 the International Union finally followed the recommendation of the Independent Review Board (IRB) and placed Chicago Local 714 into trusteeship.

The letter from James Hoffa lists a number of reasons, including job favoritism for the Hogan family, refusal to transfer assets that belong to trade show members to their new local, continued contact with banned members Billy and Robert Hogan, and refusing to cooperate in the monitoring of the local’s finances.

The letter also notes that Billy Hogan, the former head of Joint Council 25 and former running mate of James Hoffa, suddenly appeared as an employer representative to bargain a contract with Local 727.

The IRB banned Billy Hogan from Teamsters after he attempted to impose a sweetheart contract on Las Vegas trade show Teamsters, at a company partially owned by a member of Hogan’s family.

The IRB recommended a trusteeship in August 2007, but Hoffa has avoided that step for the past ten months. Instead, in April the Joint Council transferred the Trade Show and Movie Teamsters to Local 727, headed by Joint Council 25 president John Coli.

Terry Hancock has been appointed the trustee. Hancock is the president of Local 731 and also draws salaries from Joint Council 25 and the International.

The local was placed into trusteeship in 1996 by Teamster president Ron Carey, for many of the same reasons. However, the Hogan family regained power afterward, when members failed to build a strong enough movement to defeat the Hogan machine in the subsequent election.

It will be up to members to avoid repeating that history.

May 6, 2008: An official from Sen. Barack Obama's campaign today rejected the suggestion that his endorsement by the Teamsters came as a trade for his vow to lift the government's supervision of the union.

Click here to read more at chicagotribune.com.

May 6th, 2008: The focus of yesterday’s Teamster flap—it hasn’t quite reached ’gatehood yet—centered on whether or not Obama wants to reduce federal oversight of the country’s fourth-largest union. Obama said that the union had done a “terrific job cleaning itself in-house” with regard to corruption but denied giving a “blanket commitment” to cutting back oversight. Hillary Clinton, too, has that it’s time to “turn the page” on the consent decree, but her campaign says she’s made “no promises.”

But this whole discussion ignores half the issue.

Click here to read more at Slate.com.

May 5, 2008: Sen. Barack Obama won the endorsement of the Teamsters earlier this year after privately telling the union he supported ending the strict federal oversight imposed to root out corruption, according to officials from the union and the Obama campaign.

Click here to read more at the Wall Street Journal.

May 1, 2008: James P. Hoffa took a $78,000 increase in his income for 2007, by far his biggest raise since he took office nine years ago. His salary, expenses, and “allowance” and “other disbursements” for 2007 total $413,234. General Secretary Treasurer Tom Keegel bagged a big increase also.

Although Hoffa’s and Keegel’s salaries are set by the Teamster Constitution, and go up each year on a generous cost of living formula, they are apparently dodging the limit set in the constitution by taking incredibly high “other disbursements.”

This information comes from the International Union’s LM-2 financial report filed in April with the U.S. Department of Labor.

Top Officers Bag an Extra Million

Each year the Teamster Rank and File Education and Legal Defense Foundation examines hundreds of LM-2 forms filed by Teamster affiliates, to make information and analysis available to members. That report is expected to be available late this summer.

Here are a few quick facts concerning the finances of just our International Union:

• Hoffa’s “other disbursements” jumped from $35,000 to $66,000 in just one year. Most of this is a “housing allowance,” a new invention of General President Hoffa. His predecessor, Ron Carey, paid for his own apartment out of his salary, just as other union presidents do. Hoffa also paid himself an “allowance,” and his “expenses” went from about $27,000 to over $65,000. His base salary went from $268,000 to nearly $278,000; that was all he was permitted to raise it.
• The total paid in salaries, allowances, expenses and “other disbursements” to the 29 members of the General Executive Board members went up almost a million dollars in one year, the biggest increase ever.
• The International Union borrowed $10 million from Wachovia Bank for the second year in a row, and at the end of 2007 had not paid anything on the loans. The interest payments currently are at the rate of over $1 million per year.
• The income of the International Union was $185 million, including the $10 million loan.
• The International Union’s assets grew from $99 million to $117 million. The union held $51.7 million in treasury notes, $32.7 million in corporate stocks, and $17.6 million in corporate bonds.
• Strike benefits paid were just $2.5 million, down from $7.2 million in 2006.

April 8, 2008: The membership of our union is changing more every year, but the top Teamster leadership has not kept pace.

African Americans and Latinos make up a bigger portion of Teamster membership than ever before. And women Teamsters now account for a quarter of our total membership.

But our union’s top leadership doesn’t look like our membership.

The General Executive Board, our union’s elected leadership body, includes only one African American who is entitled to vote, out of 26. Two other African Americans and one Latino are non-voting Trustees.

The position of women among our top leaders is just as bad. Only one woman Teamsters has a vote on the Executive Board. Another woman is a non-voting trustee.

Hard-Won Progress

There has been progress, because of the efforts and struggles of Teamster members.

At the 1971 Teamster Convention, African American members and officers raised concerns about the fact that there were no Black IBT representatives or GEB members. Members launched the Teamsters National Black Caucus at that convention.

At the next convention in 1976, the Teamster leadership appointed John Cleveland from Washington D.C. Local 730 as an International Vice President.

Cleveland had fought hard to win greater representation and power for Black Teamsters in our union. Rather than move aside any of the white GEB members, the officials created a new position on the Board for Brother Cleveland.

The first woman wasn’t elected to our union’s top leadership until 1991, when Diana Kilmury—a long-time TDU leader from British Columbia Local 155—was elected with the Ron Carey Slate. That same year, the first Latino member was elected with Ron Carey, John Riojas of San Antonio. Kilmury later chaired the first Teamster Human Rights Commission.

We Need More Leaders

In some locals, members have made significant progress in building a leadership that looks like our membership. In other locals, less progress has been made.

But the problem is not that our union has too many bad leaders. Our union needs more leaders, especially African Americans, at all levels.

Every Teamster can be a leader, whether you want to be more active in your local, become a steward, or run for office. Being a leader means taking responsibility for your fellow Teamsters and helping them get organized.

That’s what TDU is all about.

The TDU Black Caucus is a space for Black Teamsters to learn from each other and get support in our fight to build a union that works for all of our members.

We offer training and workshops for working Teamsters who want to learn more about handling grievances, winning strong contracts, and building the movement for reform in our union.

Want to learn more? Click here to contact the TDU Black Caucus and a member will contact you.

March 27, 2008: How many times have officials in the Hoffa administration sold a contract by promising—in writing—that Teamster pensions will be “maintained and possibly improved,” only to turn around and deliver pension cuts?

Hundreds of thousands of Teamsters went through this routine before. Now Hoffa is at it again.

In March, 8,000 DHL Teamsters received a bulletin in the mail selling a contract deal. It states:

“The amount [negotiated in the deal] is sufficient to maintain and possibly to improve existing health and welfare and pension benefits.”

It is even underlined and signed by James Hoffa. It’s gotta be true, right?

Wrong.

Ask the DHL Teamsters in Baltimore. Their officials just voted to cut their pension accrual to zero. Work all year, get nothing added to your pension credits.

Ask the DHL Teamsters in New England, where pension cuts are coming.

A wise old saying: fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

Teamster members need to stop being played for the fool by top officials who enjoy millionaire pensions.

February 21, 2008: The 1.45-million-member International Brotherhood of Teamsters union today will endorse Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for president, a union spokesman confirmed.

Teamsters President James P. Hoffa will meet with Obama about 5 p.m. E.S.T. in Austin, Texas, after the union's executive board meets to formally approve the endorsement, spokesman Bret Caldwell said. "The union has been paying attention to what has been going on nationally with the election. There have been a lot of discussions with both campaigns."

Read more at detnews.com.