Why TDU Backs Teamsters United

The Teamsters United team has shown in action that they are committed to making the changes our union needs.

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For 40 years, Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) has been the network of Teamsters working together to make our union strong and democratic. We’ve had victories and defeats, we’ve continued to grow, and we work to bring out the best in the Teamsters Union.

We believe our union is at a crossroads after 17 years of the Hoffa administration. Look at the Hoffa record.  

  • Our national contracts are weakened or broken. Our grievance panels are company dominated.
  • Our pension funds—strong when he took office—are in grave danger.
  • Our organizing program aims for the easiest wins—not building Teamster power.
  • Our members—our best resource—are demoralized and detached from our union.
  • Our efforts to clean up our union are frustrated by Hoffa’s reliance on corrupt power brokers.

But opposing Hoffa is not enough to earn the endorsement of TDU. We are all about a positive program for building Teamster Power.

Why We Back Teamsters United

Teamsters United is led by Fred Zuckerman, who has never been a TDU member, but is a leader who has earned our respect with his stands and his actions in support of Teamster members. Teamsters United is also a diverse team of experienced national leaders, local leaders and new leaders, from all sectors of our union and representing various views.

We need a leadership that can make big changes. A leadership that:

  • mobilizes and informs members, instead of fearing members.
  • has a strategy to win—building and re-building national contracts and national support for local struggles.
  • unites members and locals, instead of silencing dissent.
  • has a plan to build Teamster Power through strategic organizing.
  • involves all Teamsters, including younger Teamsters, retirees, minorities, and women, and promotes new leadership at all levels.
  • defends all Teamster pensions, organizes new members into our pension plans, and uses Teamster political clout to win retirement security.
  • respects Teamster democracy incontract votes and union elections, and that roots out corruption instead of rewarding corrupt power brokers.

The Teamsters United team has shown in action that they are committed to these changes.


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For the first time in nearly two decades, reformers have won seats on the Teamsters’ international executive board—and come within a hair’s breadth of unseating the incumbent administration led by President James P. Hoffa.

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Low turnout helped Hoffa win a squeaker. But the results showed the formula for boosting turnout and winning the next election.

Teamsters United Files Post-Election Protest

Teamsters United has filed a post-election protest, detailing widespread violations by the Hoffa-Hall Campaign. Teamsters United calls for the election, which has not been certified, to be rerun. 

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