TDU at Teamsters for a Democratic Union

Teamsters & The Right to Vote

Posted on News by · September 25, 2014 6:40 AM

September 25, 2014: Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in 1975 and the Teamster leadership, already heavily penetrated by the mob, became more and more a tool of employers.

In response, members started to demand the Right to Vote on International officers. Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) took up the challenge, and in 1989 Teamster members beat the mob and won the Right to Vote in International Union elections.

How did a grassroots movement of working Teamster beat the odds and make history? First, we had a plan.

In 1985, TDU members launched a national Right to Vote petition to put pressure on the Teamster leadership to hold elections for national officers.

Volunteers collected signatures at worksites across the country. The petition, with tens of thousands of signatures, was presented to the 1986 Teamster convention.

“The Funeral of TDU”

At the convention, TDU delegates supported an amendment to the IBT constitution for direct election of IBT officials. Old guard officials voted it down overwhelmingly. Jackie Presser was elected at that convention over challenger Sam Theodus by a vote of 1792 to 24, or nearly 99%. Presser announced from the podium that it was “the funeral of TDU.”

TDU was planning ahead. The fact that the most hated president in Teamster history could get 99% support from local union officials only showed how rotten the system was.

Five years later, Sam Theodus was elected as part of the Carey slate.

TDU worked with the President’s Commission on Organized Crime. We documented how mobsters and corrupt officials were ripping off Teamster members. And we put forward a detailed plan for Teamster elections.

In 1988 the U.S. Justice Department sued the Teamster leadership under the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The government’s suit called for the Teamsters to come under federal trusteeship to “reorganize” the union.

TDU fought the trusteeship, and proposed the Right to Vote as a positive alternative. A public campaign by TDU won the support of major newspapers, as well as members of the President's Commission.

TDU National Organizer Ken Paff wrote the U.S. Attorney General saying “there is only one ‘reorganization’ under RICO that the government can effectively take: namely, to direct the IBT to hold rank-and-file elections.”

Our amicus briefs in court, and our public campaign were getting traction.

The Right to Vote is Won

On March 13, 1989, one day before the trial was to begin, the Teamster officials threw in the towel to head off the trial.

The consent order established a court supervised Independent Review Board to clean out corruption. Most important, it provided for the direct election of Teamster officers.

The Wall Street Journal reported the next day that “the terms of the settlement were greatly influenced by the concerns and platform of Teamsters for a Democratic Union.”

TDU’s position against government trusteeship and for the right to vote had prevailed.

Winning Fair Rules

Once we won the Right to Vote, TDU focused on winning fair rules that leveled the playing field. The Right to Vote isn’t worth much if the incumbents control the rules and the election.

TDU filed briefs in federal court to strengthen the independent Election Supervisor—and we won. In an important change, the Election Supervisor took charge of delegate elections. Members who run for Convention Delegate won the right to run in a fair election that was not controlled by their local officers.

We fought for numerous changes in the Election Rules. For example, we proposed an Accredited Candidate Petition Procedure so candidates with proven membership support could get their message out to the members by having access to the Teamster membership list.

We proposed that candidates be given worksite lists for all locals so Teamsters could campaign member-to-member. We won that too and a whole lot more.

The Teamster leadership fought every single improvement in the rules. In fact, they opposed the whole idea of having Election Rules.

What’s at Stake in the Current Fight?

Today, elections are a part of the Teamsters Union.

Hoffa would not dare come flat-out for abolishing the Right to Vote. Instead, he is trying to gut members’ voting rights through the back door—by getting rid of the independent election supervisor and eliminating fair election rules.

The Hoffa administration already successfully passed an amendment to the Teamster Constitution that would give Hoffa’s GEB the power to handpick the election supervisor and write their own election rules. (See Article III, Section 5(a)(2))

The consent order agreement with the Justice Department is the only thing standing in the way of an election with sham rules and a phony election supervisor controlled by Hoffa.

The biggest rule change the Hoffa administration wants governs nominations.

Right now, candidates get on the ballot if they have the support of 5% of the delegates to the Teamster Convention.

The Hoffa administration wants to change this rule to make it harder or impossible for opposition candidates to get on the ballot.

Then Hoffa’s real goal will be achieved: the elimination of International Union elections altogether.

That’s what’s at stake. We cannot and will not let that happen.

Teamsters Raise the Stakes with Solidarity—and Win

Posted on News by · September 24, 2014 9:56 AM

September 24, 2014: Teamsters at the Twin River Casino took a gamble that solidarity could beat corporate greed at Twin River Casino. Now they’ve beaten the house.

The money never stops flowing at Twin River Casino, the largest gambling and entertainment venue in Rhode Island.

But the winnings always stopped when it came to Local 251 members who work as parking valets at the Casino. Until now.

With their old local union leadership cozy with management, the odds were stacked against them. Teamster parking valets took concessionary contracts that created three tiers of employees.

The lowest tier of workers made just $2.89 an hour (plus tips). If they wanted family healthcare they had to pay for the coverage themselves.

This summer, Local 251 members at the Casino bet that solidarity could pay off—and they won a new contract with higher wages, work rule improvements and affordable healthcare for members and their families.

How They Did it

Local 251 members elected new union leadership this year and embraced a new approach to contract negotiations. For the first time, rankand-file members sat on the negotiating committee.

When Twin River Casino management refused to budge, members Voted No to reject the Casino’s concessionary contract offer.

Then workers took their case to the public. They leafleted the Casino and talked to customers. They launched a social media campaign under the theme “Poverty Wages are a losing bet” that targeted fans of the Casino’s own Facebook page.

Local 251 joined forces with the Working Families Party to launch an online petition telling “Twin River Casino should pay its parking valets a fair wage and provide affordable healthcare coverage for their families.”

The Working Families Party (WFP) is a grassroots political party of unions and community groups, including some Teamster locals. They teamed up with Teamsters Local 804 in another winning campaign to save the jobs of 250 Teamsters fired by UPS in New York City.

More than 5,000 public supporters signed the Twin River Casino petition in less than 24 hours. The day after the petition was launched, management sat down with the Local 251 bargaining committee and the Casino folded.

The new contract raises wages and delivers affordable family healthcare coverage to workers and their families.

In addition, the new contract improves members’ rights and protections on the job, including stronger job security, the right to honor primary picket lines, a better grievance procedure, fairer disciplinary policies, and improvements in union access, job bidding, seniority, and more.

When Twin River management walked into the first bargaining meeting they said, “We like things the way they are.” Members called their bluff. The Casino had nothing. Thanks to rank-and-file unity and organized public support, members had a full house!

Happy Labor Day Weekend

Posted on News by · August 29, 2014 11:58 AM

August 29, 2014: Happy Labor Day Weekend, from your brothers and sisters in Teamsters for a Democratic Union.

On Labor Day, we celebrate the union movement—the folks that brought you the weekend, the 8-hour day, retirement with dignity and the middle class.

Employers and corporate politicians want to roll these gains back. To defend them, we’ve got to put more movement back in the labor movement. That’s what TDU is all about.

Enjoy the long weekend with family and friends. Wear your Teamster colors proudly at the Labor Day Parade. Then let’s hit the ground running this fall working to rebuild union power.

TDU members are gearing up for our 2014 Convention in Cleveland from November 7-9.

Now’s the time to book your travel and make plans to attend 3-days of the best educational workshops for Teamsters around and join the growing movement to Take Back Our Union.

Click here to register for the 2014 TDU Convention today. Or give us a call at 313-842-2600.

We've Topped 12,000!

Posted on News by · August 29, 2014 8:28 AM

Updated September 12, 2014: More than 12,000 Teamsters have signed the petition to save the Right to Vote for International Union officers. There's still time to make our voices heard.

Hoffa administration lawyers are filing a motion before Federal Judge Loretta Preska in a bid to curtail fair, independently supervised elections in the Teamsters.

More than 12,000 Teamsters have signed petitions to save the Right to Vote for International Union officers. This includes more than 4,000 Teamsters who have signed our online petition as well as 8,000 petition signatures that have been collected by TDU members.

What Happens Next

The Hoffa administration is filing papers with Judge Preska. Later in September, Judge Preska is expected to meet with attorneys for the Hoffa administration and the U.S. Attorney.

Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) will present our position to the court—and we will deliver petition signatures from over 10,000 members. A decision from the Judge could come in early Fall.

Help defend the Right to Vote.

Sign the petition online and make your voice heard.

Copy and Email this link to your friends sharing it on your Facebook wall.

Mail your completed petitions immediately to:

TDU
PO Box 10128
Detroit, MI 48210

If you’d like to learn more about this important issue, contact TDU at 313-842-2600 or info [at] tdu.org. We’ll be happy to answer your questions and let you know how you can be involved in the work to defend Teamsters’ right to vote.

Louisville Take Back Our Union Meeting Slideshow

Posted on News by · August 11, 2014 1:20 PM

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Post by Paul Trujillo.

Take Back Our Union!

Posted on News by · August 11, 2014 12:49 PM

August 11, 2014: Over 200 Teamsters turned out on August 9 in Louisville, Kentucky and Dayton, Ohio to hear Fred Zuckerman, Sandy Pope, Tim Sylvester and Tony Jones talk about the growing coalition to take back our union in 2016.

The meetings were sponsored by Take Back Our Union.

The Dayton meeting drew Teamsters from Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Akron, Columbus and Lima, Ohio, as well as Dayton, and a few who made the trip from Indianapolis.

A packed hall in Louisville showed their agreement with the speakers that our union is going in the wrong direction and it’s time for a change. Members from Local 89 were the largest contingent but there were also Teamsters attending from Atlanta Local 728, Chattanooga Local 519, Paducah, Kentucky Local 236, Owensboro, Kentucky Local 215 and a carload from Columbus, Ohio Local 413.

Each speaker spoke to aspects of what it will take to win: a grassroots mobilization, getting delegates elected at the local level, member-to-member contact and info distribution, fundraising, organizing ongoing campaign committees, local meetings, and so much more.

Sandy Pope, the president of New York Local 805, ran for General President in 2011 and has a long record of experience and service to our union. Fred Zuckerman, president Louisville Local 89, was an outspoken critic of concessions in the recent UPS contract. Tony Jones is the president of Columbus Local 413; he and Zuckerman ran for International vice president in 2011. Tim Sylvester is the president of New York Local 804, where he and an active membership won the best UPS contract supplement in the country.

Click here to view a slideshow of photos from the Louisville meeting.

Take Back Our Union in Louisvile

Posted on News by · August 11, 2014 9:25 AM

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Post by Paul Trujillo.

Got Union: New York Dairy Teamsters Taking Back Their Local

Posted on News by · June 13, 2014 12:02 PM

June 13, 2014: A group of rank-and-file reformers, Local 584 Members First, are organizing to empower members, defend their jobs, and take back their union.

Dairy Teamsters in Local 584 have had a rough go of it. A change in state law has allowed nonunion competitors to flood the New York City milk market.

Aside from the nonunion competition, the big winner in this has been Elmhurst Dairy. Local 584 officials gave concessions to Elmhurst and Teamster dairy jobs have been cut as companies lease operations to nonunion competitors, in violation of the contract. More than 250 dairy Teamsters have lost their jobs in the last two years.

Rank-and-file members first got involved with TDU in late 2012, when 42 Teamsters at Elmhurst Dairy were fired and replaced with new hires off the street. TDU activists organized co-workers to pressure the union to launch a public campaign and do outreach to the community to defend their jobs.

But the union called off a planned rally and told members to wait on the arbitrator to settle the dispute. They lost the arbitration and members uncovered a slew of secret Memoranda of Agreement that had stripped away seniority protections and members’ rights. The union has been nonexistent for members who are demanding help in enforcing

the contract.

“We can’t afford to wait any more,” says Stephen Mohan, TDU member and a leader of Members First. “The Elmhurst firings and loss of jobs pushed a lot of members to start demanding a plan from the union. Members began asking questions. They see that our officials are not up to the task of standing up to the companies and fighting for us.”

Members First organized to reform the local’s bylaws this spring to give members the right to elect negotiating committees, vote on trustee appointments, and have contracts translated into Spanish if members request it.

A clear majority of members voted in favor of the proposed reforms, but the local’s leadership refused to put them in place and invoked the clause that proposals need twothirds approval to pass.

“We used the campaign to reach out to members and say what we stand for,” said Robert Ortiz, a member from Derle Farms. “The bylaws campaign showed the true colors of our current officials, who actively opposed measures to give more rights to our members. It’s obvious they don’t want us to be informed.”

Members First are building their campaign throughout the summer. They're reaching out to stewards and members across the local and meeting with members from New Jersey to Long Island to learn what changes they want to see in the union. The campaign is also planning a BBQ and soft-ball game for late June.

The Members First campaign is about building a strong union that involves everyone. Close to 250 members, including many Latina and immigrant women, work at a food processing plant on Long Island and have long been marginalized from the union.

“Some members are just excited to see us come out and hear their issues because they feel like they've been ignored by the union for so long,” said Manny Garcia, a member from Tropicana. “Our support is growing everyday.”

“We can’t afford to wait any more. “Members are asking questions and they see that our officials are not up to the task

of standing up to the companies and fighting for us.”

Stephen Mohan, Rollin Dairy

“Members are excited to see us come out and hear their issues because they feel like they’ve been ignored by the union for so long. Our support is growing everyday.”

Manny Garcia, Tropicana

Chicago TDU Members Meet With Supporters

Posted on News by · June 13, 2014 11:29 AM

June 13, 2014: The Chicago TDU Chapter hosted a discussion and fundraiser for TRF (TDU’s nonprofit educational sister organization) on May 17 with Ken Paff, TDU’s National Organizer. The event drew TDU members, supporters of Teamster reform, and allies from other unions and netted $2,600 for TRF.

“We had a good discussion on where our movement is headed and it was great to see the support and interest from members from other unions and organizations who are inspired by TDU’s work.”

Frank Pesce, Central States Pension

Fund, Local 743, Chicago

New York TDU Chapter Bowls for Teamster Reform

Posted on News by · June 13, 2014 11:27 AM

June 13, 2014: The NY Chapter raised more than $6,000 at a Bowl-athon in May. Members sold raffle tickets to help pay a $500 team-entrance fee and team captains recruited more than 60 bowlers.

“Members really got into the Bowl-a-thon,” says TDU member and Local 814 organizer Julian Tysh, who helped organize the event. “It was a fun way to build some solidarity and get to know one another better. We’re going to make it an annual event.”

TDU

Teamsters & The Right to Vote

Teamsters Raise the Stakes with Solidarity—and Win

Happy Labor Day Weekend

We've Topped 12,000!

Louisville Take Back Our Union Meeting Slideshow

Take Back Our Union!

Take Back Our Union in Louisvile

Got Union: New York Dairy Teamsters Taking Back Their Local

Chicago TDU Members Meet With Supporters

New York TDU Chapter Bowls for Teamster Reform

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