Steve Vairma was handpicked by Jim Hoffa and Rome Aloise to run for General President. Yet, Vairma and his slate have spent the last six months trying to distance themselves from Hoffa and his failed policies.

But there’s one person you’ve never heard of who is at the center of a tangled web of power, influence and billable hours that connects Vairma, Hoffa and Aloise: Pat Szymanski.

Who is Szymanski?

Pat Szymanski started off as Junior Hoffa’s campaign lawyer in the 90’s and was rewarded with the union’s General Counsel job in 1999.

He was forced out in 2005, but landed a plum job as the General Counsel of the Change to Win Federation, the vanity project Hoffa joined when he yanked the Teamsters out of the AFL-CIO.

This web is still being spun and is more tangled than ever.

Entangled With Hoffa, Aloise & Vairma

Szymanski still works for Hoffa as the General Counsel at Change to Win, where Hoffa is the Chair.

Szymanski simultaneously represents Rome Aloise in his corruption case before the IIO.

Aloise is again facing serious charges for racketeering, retaliating against members, interfering with corruption investigations and secretly controlling union affiliates while suspended from office for other corruption charges.

Aloise has been Vairma’s mentor for years and brokered a deal with Hoffa to appoint Vairma to the General Executive Board (GEB).

While Szymanski has been busy orchestrating Aloise’s delay and serving as Hoffa’s General Counsel at Change to Win, Szymanski landed a third job as Vairma’s campaign attorney.

That’s right. Szymanski is serving all three masters at the same time: Vairma campaign attorney, Aloise defense counsel and Hoffa General Counsel at Change to Win.

The Vairma-Herrera slate pretend they are a fresh start for our union.

But if the Teamsters are going to thrive and grow, we must untangle the union from the web of Hoffa’s hacks and cronies and escape Hoffa’s trap.