March 2, 2009: At the same time he was the $150,000-a-year president of Chicago Local 743, one of the largest Teamster locals, Robert Walston was involved in a cocaine-trafficking scheme, according to an indictment unsealed on Jan. 22. Walston pleaded not guilty on Jan. 29.

On June 16, 2007, federal agents seized $135,000 in cash from Walston and Victor Matos, one of his alleged co-conspirators. Walston is accused of repeatedly driving and flying to Houston Texas with large sums of cash to purchase cocaine for distribution. He claimed he was going to use the cash to purchase trucks.

In August 2007, two months after federal agents seized the cash, Walston resigned from Teamster office.

He turned the reins of the local over to his associate Richard Lopez. Lopez and Walston were soon indicted for rigging the 2004 local union election by diverting hundreds of ballots to friends, including employers, and then casting them for the incumbents against the New Leadership Slate.

In October 2007, the U.S. Department of Labor oversaw a fair Local 743 election, which was won by the New Leadership Slate, headed by Richard Berg. That closed the book on this unfortunate chapter of corruption in the local union, and opened a hopeful one for Chicago Teamsters.

March 2, 2009: A proposed merger of California Local 896 that would have threatened that local’s proud history of winning strong contracts is now on hold.

The news comes just as the Committee to Save Local 896 was preparing their next action. Members spoke up to save their local and made it happen.

For months, Local 896 officials were deep in talks with Local 848 head Jim Santangelo about merging the two locals.

But now the merger has been abruptly put on hold. At the February union meeting, Local Secretary-Treasurer Rene Medrano reversed himself and announced that all merger talks with Local 848 were over—and no merger was in the works.

Local 896 is based in Los Angeles and represents 3,000 brewery and soft-drink workers across California.

Saving Face

When the merger was proposed in December, Medrano brought Santangelo to the L.A. Anheuser-Busch brewery to sell the deal. Santangelo was back at the January Local 896 meeting—and faced tough questions from Local 896 members.

At the Local 896 meeting on Feb. 22., Medrano didn’t mention the merger even once in his half hour long report.

Medrano only admitted that the merger had fallen through after a member asked him point-blank about it. He appeared to have no intention of discussing the merger until he was asked.

Medrano explained that if the merger went through, employees of the local would go into an inferior health and welfare plan—a pretty weak excuse.

Meanwhile, at the Local 848 meeting on the same day, Santangelo refused to admit defeat and said that he still hoped the merger would go through.

Power of Information

As soon as they heard the rumor of a possible merger, Local 896 Teamsters sprang into action and formed the Committee to Save Local 896.

Members at Coke and Pepsi had bargained side-by-side with Santangelo before—and saw him negotiate inferior contracts in their industry.

The committee produced educational bulletins that explained to members what they could expect in a local headed by Santangelo.

They let members hear from Local 848 members. They circulated information from the Independent Review Board and Election Officer that showed Santangelo made an illegal loan to himself and intimidated members who disagreed with him.

The Local 896 members made it clear that they were going to have a voice in this merger—and they are going to stay prepared to spring into action if any future discussions take place.

The Local 896 members who worked so hard to keep their local proud and independent are a good example of what members can do when they get informed and get organized.

February 19, 2009: Less than six weeks after taking office, the new principal officer of Local 179 has resigned in the wake of a corruption scandal.

Jim Kenney was elected president of Local 179 in September and took office in January. Apparently, he was a fast learner in the ways of misusing members’ dues dollars.

Union officials refused to disclose to members or the press what impropriety occurred. Hoffa PR-man Bret Caldwell told the press that, “There’s nothing dramatic that occurred there.”

That may depend on your idea of drama.

Now, ex-President Kenney was reportedly having an affair with an employee of the Suburban Teamster Pension Fund. That’s his business. But he used the union credit card to pay for romantic getaways at a luxury hotel located near the Fund. That’s the union’s business.

Kenney also charged close to a thousand dollars in personal Christmas presents to the union credit card.

Not all of Kenney’s alleged improprieties involve abusing the union credit card. Sometimes, Kenney cut out the middle man and just pocketed members’ money directly. Kenney reportedly made off with dues that members had paid in cash at the local union.

When the missing dues were reported, Kenney tried to cover them with a personal check. It bounced.

Local 179 officials investigated the issue. Kenney resigned. Rich Gierut has taken his place as the new local president.

Click here to read a press account: "Local Teamster Official Steps Down."

February 12, 2009: The former president of Pittsburgh Local 249 has been found guilty by the International Union of rewarding friends and punishing enemies in hiring drivers in the movie industry.

Wayne Shatkoff is suspended from Teamster membership for a year. That means he will not be eligible to run for office in the 2011 local election.

The decision, which affirms the penalty imposed by the Local 249 executive board, is anti-climactic because Shatkoff lost his reelection bid last November and has been out of office since January 1.

It does serve to remind Teamster officers that the use of hiring halls to punish Teamsters considered "enemies" has no place in the labor movement.

What do you think? Click here to send your comments to Teamsters for a Democratic Union.

February 4, 2009: Robert Walston, former president of Local 743, has been charged with conspiracy and drug dealing in connection with the purchase and distribution of 80 kilograms of cocaine.

Walston was indicted on Jan. 22. The alleged crimes happened in 2007, when Walston was president of the big Chicago local, so drug running would have been a moonlighting job along with his union work.

On June 16, 2007, federal agents seized $135,000 in cash from Walston and Victor Matos, one of his alleged co-conspirators. Walston is accused of repeatedly driving and flying to Houston, Texas with large sums of cash to purchase cocaine for distribution. He claimed he was going to use the cash to purchase trucks.

For several years, Walston was not only the president of Local 743, but also an important point person against Teamster rank-and-file reformers. He also used Local 743 funds to hire James Hoffa’s personal friend and campaign spokesperson, Richard Leebove, to produce attack materials against TDU and outspoken members.

In August 2007, two months after federal agents seized the cash, Walston resigned from Teamster office. He turned the reins of the local over to his associate Richard Lopez. Lopez was soon indicted for rigging the 2004 local union election by diverting hundreds of ballots to friends, including employers, and then casting them for the incumbents against the New Leadership Slate.

In Oct. 2007, the U.S. Department of Labor oversaw a fair Local 743 election, which was won by the New Leadership Slate headed by Richard Berg. That closed the book on this unfortunate chapter of corruption in the local union, and opened a hopeful one for Chicago Teamsters.

Click here to read the indictment against Walston.

What do you think? Click here to send a comment to Teamsters for a Democratic Union.

January 10, 2009: Teamsters in Las Vegas and Buffalo have new officers in 2009.

In Las Vegas Local 631, members voted in a slate led by Kevin Hardison and John Phillipenas. The local represents 6,500 Teamsters at UPS and in freight, waste, convention services, and more.

Earlier this year, members in the Las Vegas convention industry blew the whistle on a scheme where the union set up a nonunion hiring hall inside the union hall.

The membership in Buffalo Local 375 voted for change in their recent election. Mike Wach, a city driver out of New Penn, and his entire slate won office. The local represents freight Teamsters, as well as over 400 ambulance drivers and EMTs at Rural/Metro. These Teamsters have been involved in a months-long contract dispute that has gone to a federal mediator.

Local 804 members beat concessions and pension cuts, won new rights in their local bylaws, and organized to rebuild union power.

Local 804 members got an early start on building Teamster Power in 2008—by defeating concessions and pension cuts in December 2007.

Members held a series of rank-and-file meetings and launched a Vote No campaign—after UPS and Local 804 negotiators cut a concessionary contract deal that included pension cuts.

Members voted the contract down by three to one and UPS was forced to take the concessions off the table—including its demand to eliminate 25 & Out pensions for new Teamsters.

Jim ReynoldsWinning New Rights

Members could have gone back to business as usual then, but they didn’t. Instead, they formed a rank-and-file committee called Local 804 Members United.

“We wanted to get to the root of the problem, one of which is the lack of information members were getting from our union,” said Jim Reynolds, an alternate steward and a founding member of Local 804 Members United.

Local 804 Members United launched a petition drive to change the Local 804 bylaws to require officers to keep members informed during bargaining and to report on the pension and health funds at every membership meeting.

They collected over 2,000 signatures on a petition to change the Local 804 bylaws and voted through the changes by a more than 90 percent.

Benefits Watchdog

Local 804 Members United have monitored the local’s benefit funds—and exposed serious problems to the membership.

An investigation by the group uncovered that the Local 804 Health Fund had lost $18 million in assets in just four years—and that Local 804 officials had diverted millions of dollars in contributions from the Health Fund to the Pension Fund without ever telling the members.

Using their rights under the Pension Protection Act, members have forced UPS and Local 804 to turn over financial documents that they had mismanaged the Pension Fund’s assets for years—putting members’ benefits at risk.

“The last couple of years have been a real wake-up call as far as our pension is concerned,” said Bill Reynolds, a package car driver on Long Island and one of the members who pressed the fund to release the documents.

Tim SylvesterLooking Ahead to 2009

“We all have a responsibility to leave our union stronger than it was when we got here. That’s what Local 804 Members United is all about,” said Tim Sylvester, a 29-year Teamster and Local 804 shop steward.

“Brown can’t move a package in New York City without a Local 804 Teamster: that gives us power. Our local used to use it to win top contracts and pensions.”

“Local 804 members used to feel that power. We want to bring the pride and the power back,” Sylvester said.

Working together, the members of Local 804 Members United are on the road to doing just that.

Teamsters for a Democratic Union is running a series of stories about Teamster members who made a difference in 2008. Click here to read more stories in our series.

You can help make a positive difference in our union in 2009. Click here to join Teamsters for a Democratic Union and become a part of our movement.

That all changed on January 1, 2008, when the New Leadership Slate took office in the 12,000-member local.

George Simpson, Local 743 StewardNow Local 743 members are on the front lines of winning stronger contracts and fighting for all workers.

Teamsters at Friends Family Health Center had gone for 18 months without a contract. The new leadership launched a contract campaign and won a new contract with wage improvements for the Teamsters there.

At the University of Chicago Medical Center, members hadn’t voted for stewards in many years. Local 743 called new elections, and now members have new, elected stewards there to protect their rights.

In May, Local 743 members and leaders joined community members from across Chicago and marched for immigrant rights.

And earlier this month, when workers at Republic Windows and Doors occupied their factory, Local 743 officers and members were there to support their fight.

“It’s only been a year but you can see the changes in our union. Members are speaking up and getting results,” said George Simpson, a Local 743 steward. “We need more members involved so we can do more to make our union strong.”

Teamsters for a Democratic Union is running a series of stories about Teamster members who made a difference in 2008. Click here to read more stories in our series.

You can help make a positive difference in our union in 2009. Click here to join Teamsters for a Democratic Union and become a part of our movement.

Teamsters in Las Vegas Local 631 will have new leadership next year, thanks to members who voted out officials who were cutting sweetheart deals.

Earlier this year, members in the Las Vegas convention industry exposed blew the whistle on a scheme where the union set up a nonunion hiring hall inside the union hall.

Nonunion workers paid $60 to take jobs that should have gone to union members. Union members got their hours cut. And family members of the executive board got in on the deal.

Members elected a slate led by rank-and-file members who pledged honest leadership and an end to sweetheart deals.

Click here to read more about their election victory in the Las Vegas Sun.

Click here to read the original Las Vegas Sun article that exposed sweetheart deals in the convention industry.

Teamsters for a Democratic Union is running a series of stories about Teamster members who made a difference in 2008. Click here to read more stories in our series.

You can help make a positive difference in our union in 2009. Click here to join Teamsters for a Democratic Union and become a part of our movement.

Last spring, Baltimore Teamsters had their pensions cut to zero. Now they are building a force for change.

Local 355 pension trustees had left members in the dark for years about how their fund was doing. And local president Denis Taylor refused to tell members how long the cuts would last, or what his plan was to improve benefits.

Members were angry. Some were ready to give up on their union. But a few started to get organized.

“Our officials kept us in the dark about our benefits, and they refused to tell members their plan to make improvements,” said Kenny Walker, a UPS package car driver in the local. “But we started getting organized. We held meetings and passed out petitions. We told members that we could make a difference in our union.”

Members started holding monthly TDU meetings, set up a website, and launched a campaign to win a Pension Bill of Rights that would guarantee members the right to have a say when changes are made in their benefits.

Over 600 members signed a petition in favor of the Pension Bill of Rights. Members started demanded regular updates about the status of the pension fund at local union meetings—and officials agreed.

Now Maryland Teamsters are organizing a TDU chapter, and they’re going to hold regular meetings in 2009, plus educational workshops.

“We still have a long way to go. We need to hold our officials to their word that we will get regular updates from our fund,” said Walker. “We’re now a force for change in our union.”

Teamsters for a Democratic Union is running a series of stories about Teamster members who made a difference in 2008. Click here to read more stories in our series.

You can help make a positive difference in our union in 2009. Click here to join Teamsters for a Democratic Union and become a part of our movement.