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

Video: Reform History at Teamster Conventions

TDU members and other reform Teamsters have taken the issues to Teamster Conventions for nearly 40 years – and won major gains for all Teamster members. This ten-minute video shows reformers speaking “truth to power” from 1981 through 2006 (when the video was produced).  

Get Ready to Run for Delegate

Teamster members are building a campaign to vote out Hoffa-Hall and elect the Teamsters United Slate. Upcoming Convention Delegate elections are the critical next step in the campaign.

Election Supervisor Makes it Official

The Election Supervisor has tallied the petition signatures and officially accredited the Teamsters United Slate.

Teamsters United will get a free mailing to 1.3 million members in the form of campaign ads or “Battle Pages” in the next issue of the Teamster Magazine. 

Petition Drive Success! What’s Next?

Grassroots volunteers collected more than 63,000 signatures to successfully accredit Teamsters United as the official candidates against Hoffa-Hall. What’s next for the movement to win new leadership and a new direction in the Teamsters?

Petition Drive Nears Final Push

Volunteers are collecting 50,000 signatures to accredit Tim Sylvester and Teamsters United as the slate running against Hoffa-Hall in 2016. 

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