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.


Related Articles

Democracy Builds Teamster Power

Teamster ballots will be counted this week. As General President Fred Zuckerman will build union power the same way Teamsters United built its campaign: by informing, uniting and mobilizing members. Hoffa-Hall want Teamsters in the dark and toeing the line. That’s why our union is weak and voter turnout is low—and that’s why Hoffa-Hall have to go. 

More Hoffa-Hall Corruption Charges Filed

Corruption investigators noted Ken Hall’s “unusual tolerance” for repeated embezzlement by the Teamsters Political Director Nicole Brener-Schmitz. Now she faces corruption charges and Ken Hall faces questions about why he let it happen. 

Ken Hall Obstruction Case Heads to Court

In an escalation of the charges against Ken Hall for obstructing investigations into corruption, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara has filed court papers denouncing the Hoffa-Hall administration’s actions as “unprecedented and dangerous.”

Bloomberg BNA Reports on the Teamster Election

[Re-posted from Bloomberg BNA]

The secretary-treasurer of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters intentionally withheld documents from officials who are working to root out corruption in the union, an investigator said.

Corruption Charges on Eve of Teamster Election

MEDIA ADVISORY: Less than two weeks before the vote count in the national Teamsters Union election, a court-approved anti-corruption officer has charged the number two Teamster official with obstructing corruption investigations by hiding and destroying thousands of union documents and emails.

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