"Enforcing our contract, reforming our bylaws, running for office: we learned it at the TDU Convention.”
Duke Clark,
Local 726, City of Chicago

The TDU Convention brings together concerned Teamsters who are building a rank-and-file movement to defend our contracts and benefits and rebuild Teamster Power at the local and International Union levels.

The Attack on Teamster Benefits

This year’s Convention will focus on what Teamsters can do about the attack on our benefits:

Protecting Our Pensions: Employers are trying to cut our pensions and even break out of Teamster funds. Teamsters and pension experts will look at the latest changes in our funds and pension legislation—and talk about what it will take to win this fight.

Winning Affordable Healthcare: Learn successful strategies from Teamsters who are bargaining strong benefits, winning affordable retiree healthcare and organizing for healthcare reform.


Meet and Strategize with Teamsters from Your Industry

“I’ve met some many great UPS activists by coming to the TDU Convention. It’s our place to network, meet new people and learn from other UPSers. I’ll definitely be there this year.”
Wayne Phillips,
UPS Package Car Steward
Local 243, Detroit

“Freight Can’t wait until 2008. Be in Chicago and help draw up the plans to strengthen and protect our contract.”
Tim Pagel, Yellow Freight
Local 988, Houston


The TDU Convention is the place to meet with Teamsters in your industry to strategize about contracts and contract enforcement

Special sessions will be held for Teamsters from:

• UPS
• Freight
• DHL
• Carhaul
• Warehouse
• Waste
• Rail
• Public Sector
• Movers
• Trade show
• And more!
  

Caucus meetings will also be held for African American, Latino and women Teamsters.

Click here to register online.

For more information or to register by phone, call the TDU office at (313)842-2600.

September 14, 2007: "The TDU Convention is where we'll make our plans to strengthen and protect the NMFA."
Tim Pagel, Local 988, Yellow, Houston

Join hundreds of concerned Teamsters in the Windy City for the 32nd Annual TDU Rank & File Convention, Nov. 2-4 at the Crown Plaza O’Hare in Chicago.

• Meet with Teamsters in your industry to strategize about contracts and contract enforcement
  
• Attend educational workshops led by union leaders, attorneys, and industry experts
  
• Build the network of rank-and-file activists that are working for a stronger Teamsters union

Teamster Education

Grounded in real-life experience—and taught by Teamster leaders and labor experts—the workshops at the TDU Convention help members, stewards and officers build power in our union.

Topics will include:

• Running for Local Union office
  
• Strategic Grievance handling
  
• Rebuilding Teamster Power in Our Core Industries
• Winning Strong Contracts
• Enforcing Our Rights at UPS
• Labor History
  
• And more!

Click here for more information on the TDU Convention.

Click here to register for the TDU Convention.

For more information or to register by phone, please call the TDU office at (313) 842-2600.

August 23, 2007: This year’s analysis reveals that more than $20 million in Teamster dues was paid last year to the highest paid Teamster officials, each of whom bags $150,000 or more a year.

Teamster contracts and benefit funds are under attack—and our union’s power is on the decline. But salaries for top Teamster officials remain on the rise, draining dues that could be used to organize the nonunion competition and rebuild Teamster Power.

Those are the findings of a comprehensive analysis of Teamster financial documents and officer compensation by the Teamster Rank and File Education and Legal Defense Foundation (TRF).

Click here to view complete salary data for our union's top-paid officers.

Some of our union's highest-paid officials are the ones who are failing to defend our master contracts and benefits. Click here to read more.

In 2006, the Hoffa administration shattered its previous records in several categories including:

• total pay going to the union’s highest paid officials;

• number of officers making more than $150,000;
  

• the number of multiple salaries paid by the International to officers already making at least one union salary.

The great majority of Teamster principal officers of locals make less than $100,000 a year. But there are numerous exceptions—and you’ll find all of them here. In addition to the $150,000 Club, we list every Teamster official who has a total salary over $100,000. No partisanship and no exceptions.

This year’s analysis reveals that more than $20 million in Teamster dues was paid last year to the highest paid Teamster officials, each of whom bags $150,000 or more a year.

In all, 96 Teamster officials now belong to this $150,000 Club—a 23 increase in the last year alone. Twenty-five officials now make more than $200,000 a year.

Twenty-two members of Hoffa’s General Executive Board are in the $150,000 Club—along with numerous Hoffa appointees.

Multiple Salaries

For the last 30 years, members and concerned officers have organized to reform our union’s financial priorities. Multiple salaries have been at the center of that struggle.

In 1990, when TDU printed the multiple salaries of several candidates for International office, they were quietly dropped from their slate and retired. In 1993, General President Ron Carey eliminated 65 multiple salaries in one day by abolishing the Area Conferences. By 1998, only 16 officials on the IBT payroll got a multiple salary.

Since taking office, Hoffa has reversed that trend. Last year, 179 officials on the International Union payroll received multiple Teamster salaries—a new record and a 1,018 percent increase during Hoffa’s tenure. Altogether, the International paid more than $8.5 million in multiple salaries.

Hoffa uses these multiple salaries to reward his political supporters—and to punish dissenters. Last year, Hoffa fired Larry Brennan—the Michigan Teamster who made Hoffa eligible to run for General President by giving him a no-show job—for showing insufficient loyalty during Hoffa’s reelection campaign.

Hoffa also fired Eastern Region Freight Director Dan Virtue in retaliation for running for Eastern Region Vice President. That retaliatory firing is now under review by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Cost of Hoffa’s Broken Promises

When Hoffa first ran for General President, he promised to “cut and cap” Teamster salaries at $150,000 a year, but when the Hoffa train left the station, the platform stayed behind. Reform delegates to the 2006 Teamster Convention tried to amend the constitution to include these reforms, but Hoffa directed his supporters to vote against his own campaign promise.

TRF’s financial analysis reveals that the cost of this broken promise was $3.75 million for 2006 alone.

Hoffa also promised to “eliminate expensive International Union perks,” including the IBT’s practice of paying the employee portion of social security taxes. This amounts to a 7.65 percent tax on Teamster members and hidden extra compensation for International officials. For the 178 International officials making $100,000 a year or more, this cost Teamsters nearly $1 million last year alone.

If Hoffa had kept his “cut and cap” promises, our union would have saved $20 million during his tenure in office.

Rank-and-File Pressure Can Change Priorities

For 28 years, TDU has published the facts to let members decide for themselves whether our union’s financial priorities are on the right track.

Armed with the facts, Teamsters have mobilized to cut the fat and direct our union’s resources to programs that build Teamster power.

When TDU first published the $100,000 Club, General President Jackie Presser’s salary was over $500,000. In today’s dollars, that would be over $1 million. Those days are past.

These financial savings are the direct result of rank-and-file pressure—but they’re not enough.

With corporations attacking our contracts and benefits, we need to keep the pressure to make sure our dues money is put to work defending working Teamsters—not subsidizing a corporate lifestyle for top Teamster officials.

Click here to complete salary data of our union's top-paid officers.

Some of our union's highest-paid officials are the ones who are failing to defend our master contracts and benefits. Click here to read more.

The new TDU website brings you more info—and we want to hear from you.
Click here to register so you can post comments online.

March 15, 2007: Since 2003, our Teamster benefits have been under attack from pension cuts to anti-worker legislation. But the coming year presents us with our best chances yet to take the offensive, reverse the cuts, and improve our benefits for the future—starting with the UPS and Freight contract negotiations.

TDU Pension Rights WorkshopTo succeed, we need to understand the challenges we face and put together a plan that can win the pension protections and improvements we need.

That’s why Teamsters for a Democratic Union is launching a Pension Rights and Benefits Improvement Program. We will bring together members, Teamster pension activists, and benefit experts in a series of workshops and planning meetings to talk about:

• What’s at Stake in UPS and Freight Bargaining—and What Can Be Won
• How the Pension Protection Act will Affect Our Benefit Funds
• What Working Teamsters Can Do To Protect and Improve Our Pensions

Every Teamster benefit fund has been affected differently by the attack on our retirement security. Teamsters in the Central States, for example, face specific challenges based on new policies adopted by the fund after the 2003 cuts and the agreement trustees made last year with the IRS. Other funds face different issues.

Each workshop will address the particular issues affecting your pension fund—the challenges that apply as well as the opportunities to win improvements.

Now is the time to act. The next UPS and freight contracts will determine the future of our Teamster benefits for years to come. Get informed. Know your rights. And get involved. Your participation now can make the difference.

Click here to contact TDU about a meeting or workshop in your area.

Oct. 24 - 26, 2008
Cleveland

Members celebrate Teamster reform victories at last year's TDU Convention.Join Teamsters from across the country for Teamsters for a Democratic Union's 33rd annual Convention.

• Meet with Teamsters in your industry to strategize about contracts and grievances
• Attend educational workshops led by union leaders, attorneys, and industry experts
• Build the network of rank-and-file activists that are working for a stronger Teamsters union

Want to know more about the Convention? Click here to contact TDU, or call (313) 842-2600.

Help spread the word. Click here to download a flyer to invite other Teamsters to the convention.

Use the Knowledge
“For 27 years, the $100,000 Club has given members the facts and Teamsters have responded by demanding reforms. TDU and the $100,000 Club have reduced dues waste and freed up millions to spend on union power. History proves it. Now let's finish the job.”
Michael Savwoir, UPS
Local 41, Kansas City, MO

2006 Annual $100,000 Club
For 27 years, TDU has published the $100,000 Club—a comprehensive listing of all Teamster officials who make more than $100,000 a year. The $100,000 Club is non-partisan. We publish the name of every Teamster official who makes more than the limit, regardless of whether they are a friend or foe of TDU, a do-nothing fat-cat or a committed Teamster.

Click here to see the $100,000 Club for 2006.

Bloated Salaries on the Rise
A brief summary of the findings of the 2006 $100,000 Club report. Read more.

How the $100,000 Club and TDU Have Changed Teamster History
TDU began publishing the "$100,000 Club" in 1979. Armed with this information, and the Right to Vote, Teamsters have demanded financial reforms and won them. Read more.

Teamster Spending by the Numbers
How much money's been collected under the 2002 dues increase? How many Big Macs can an International Rep buy with their daily meal allowance?

Click here for more facts and figures on Teamster spending.

One Salary is Plenty
“When officials give themselves big multiple salaries, they forget where they come from and can’t relate to the rank and file. That’s where I disagree with them. I always took only salary, just like the members.”
T.C. Bundrant, Retired President
Local 549, Kingsport, Tenn.

$150,000 Club: What’s Your Opinion?

What do you think? We are seeking the opinions and input of all Teamsters.

When TDU began researching Teamster finances to keep members informed, 27 years ago, $100,000 was a fat cat salary. Today, the full listing allows Teamster members to compare for themselves their own local union salaries against others, and to decide what is fair compensation for union officers.

Click here to send your opinion.