The negotiating committee would be able to do this by using an interpretation of Article XII, Section 2 (d)(2) of the Teamsters constitution. The article gives the negotiating committee the ability to either ratify or renegotiate the contract in the event less than 50% of the membership casts votes and less than a two-thirds majority votes the contract down.

The International used this article in 2013 to push through the Local 89 Air Rider despite the overwhelming disapproval from Local 89’s members. “”At the that time, I never imagined a day would come wherein the IBT would expand upon that travesty and strip every IBT member employed at UPS of his/her right to the democratic process.” said Fred Zuckerman.

Zuckerman also raised questions over the threat from Denis Taylor, “ 'why would Denis Taylor and the IBT choose to implement a substandard agreement(s) instead of continuing negotiations for improvements?' Why would anyone in their right mind settle on a clearly unpopular final offer, when they have the authority to negotiate for a better one? “

The vote count will take place Friday, Oct. 5th at 8 P.M. Eastern Standard Time. Voting results will be broadcasted live by teleconference, dial 866-767-0669, or online, visit http://ibt.io/UPSvotecount

Here is the Teamsters United petition for the IBT to resume negations in the event of a no vote: http://www.upsteamstersunited.org/majority-rules

#WashingtonDC #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #UPSContract #FredZuckerman #VoteNoOnUPSContract

The statement described the events in Kentucky’s state capitol: “Frankfort’s newfound disdain for workers was evident all throughout the week, starting last Wednesday when these laws were first heard in their respective committees. Hundreds of union members and supporters flocked to the state capitol that day. As ‘Right-to-Work’ and the repeal of Prevailing Wage were being heard, Kentucky workers were locked out of the hearings while wealthy men and women from organizations such as Americans For Prosperity, an extremely anti-worker group funded by out-of-state money, were allowed inside. As chants of ‘Let us in!’ and ‘Suits in there, boots out here!’ reverberated through the hallways of the Capital Annex, Governor Bevin further showed his disdain for the workers of this state by being escorted through the crowd to testify in favor of these anti-worker laws.”

The statement points out, “The notion that ‘Right-to-Work’ is about giving workers a choice on whether to be in a union or not is a laughably easy one to debunk. In Kentucky, 11% of jobs are union while 89% are non-union. When a worker goes out looking for a job, no one forces that worker to apply at a unionized shop and no one forces that worker to only select from the 11% union and not the much larger 89% non-union. If a worker chooses to apply for and accept a union job, they are doing so because they chose to. If they weighed union and non-union jobs against one another, and they ultimately chose to work at a unionized job then they did so because it offered greater wages, superior benefits, and unparalleled protection. These are things only possible because of the union contract at that job, and if they choose to accept those benefits as opposed to a non-union job which offers significantly less, then they are choosing to belong to the organization that made those things possible.”

The statement also notes. “To our members, rest assured that Teamsters Local 89 will never be defeated. As has been said many times in the last week, politicians did not create the American Labor Movement, and politicians will not destroy it. The Teamsters union has existed for over a century. We existed three decades before unions were legally recognized in the United States of America, and we will continue to exist long after Governor Bevin and his anti-worker friends are gone and forgotten. Our Local Union is widely known as one of the strongest, most militant in the Commonwealth. The passage of these laws will not change that, and in fact, they will only make us fight that much harder.”

#FrankfortKY #Teamsters #rightToWork #TeamstersLocal89 #FredZuckerman

Jacksonville, FL – On Nov. 18, Teamsters in the U.S. and Canada awoke to find that Jim Hoffa had won re-election as president of the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters after 17 years in office. Instead of the overwhelming electoral victory that Hoffa usually experiences, the Teamsters old guard lost in the Southern Region, the Central Region, the U.S. as a whole, and only barely squeaked by in the International vote.

Teamsters United, the reform slate running against Hoffa, won six vice president spots to split the executive board for the first time since Hoffa has taken office. Led by Louisville Local 89 President Fred Zuckerman, Teamsters United faced an uphill battle from the jump. The vast majority of local leaders around the country urged their members to vote Hoffa. This was demonstrated in the National Teamsters Convention last June where Hoffa's delegates numbered over 90%. These delegates are almost always local union officers. When the vote went to the members, however, he only won 51.5%.

On the other hand, Teamsters United had a committed group of enthusiastic activists and a union full of “pissed off Teamsters.” Members who had enough of Hoffa's concessions during his time as general president found a way to put their frustrations into action. Uniting the two opposition slates from the previous election, the reform slate entered the election with commitments to stop the wave of concessions, put a firm stop to corruption, and organize new workers in the core industries.

While local union officers used their steward structures and Hoffa's top lieutenants did 20-minute photo ops, Teamster United's army of campaigners set up a strong organizations in traditional Hoffa strongholds like Chicago, New York, Florida, Ohio, Los Angeles, and countless other areas. These campaigners used vacations, personal days, break periods and weekends to inform members that they had an opportunity to elect Teamster leaders who wanted to fight the employers just as much as they did.

As the ballot count came in, it was anybody's race, with Hoffa taking an early lead by winning the Eastern Region and Teamsters United taking back the lead until the last few hours. Although Hoffa remains in power for now, this was a massive victory for militants in the Teamsters in particular as well as all who believe the labor movement needs to return to real class struggle instead of constant concessions to employers.

John Palmer, one the vice presidents elected from the Southern Region said, “Teamsters in the South sent a clear message that they want change. As a vice president, I'll make sure their demand for a stronger union is heard.”

Both Teamster employers and old guard officials are becoming terrified of an increasingly strong rank-and-file militant movement that has now split up the rubber-stamp executive board. On top of that, both Fred Zuckerman and Teamsters for a Democratic Union have made public commitments to stay united going forward into future elections and contract campaigns, especially the upcoming 2018 UPS contract. Local activists have followed suit and formed local organizations where none existed before.

Several top Hoffa vice presidents and officials are looking forward to corruption charges from the federal government. Two of the most high-profile cases involve Western Region Vice President Rome Aloise, who is accused of taking gifts from employers in exchange for contract concessions and Secretary Treasurer Ken Hall, who is accused of withholding information from the government's investigation. The future of many old-guard Teamster officials is looking more and more uncertain.

One thing's for sure, it's that the Hoffa machine is dead and Teamsters United killed it.

#JacksonvilleFL #Teamsters #JimmyHoffaJr #FredZuckerman #TeamstersUnited

“I'm supporting Teamsters United because I want our leadership to fight for our members and not the company's interests,” said Lena Molina, a nine-year UPS worker from Teamsters Local 63 in California.

The Teamsters have been under the leadership of General President James P. Hoffa, Jr. for 17 years. The son of Jimmy Hoffa, Sr. who ran the Teamsters from 1958 to 1971, Hoffa Jr. has overseen a rise in concessions to employers, the weakening of pensions and a decline in union democracy.

“Teamsters are uniting because of Hoffa’s 17 years of failed leadership. Teamsters are fed up with the corruption and betrayal,” Fred Zuckerman told Fight Back!. “This has resulted in contract concessions, losing our standard of living and for hundreds of thousands of Teamsters losing their pensions. Teamsters are looking for leadership that will stand with them, not with the employers.”

Fred Zuckerman, Hoffa Jr.'s challenger, is the president of Teamsters Local 89, one of the largest Teamster locals. Zuckerman has served the union at every level and rose to national prominence by opposing Hoffa's concessionary contract to UPS and by speaking out against Hoffa's lack of response to such things as the pension crisis and subcontracting.

UPS feeder drivers are in a real struggle to stop the company from undermining their work by using cheaper, nonunion subcontractors.

Andrew May, a feeder driver out of Teamsters Local 344 explained why he favors Zuckerman.

“I am supporting Zuckerman because we need a leader who has fought subcontracting and is willing to fight for stronger language in our contract. Zuckerman fought subcontracting at Holland and was in process of fighting it in UPS before Hoffa forced the contract onto the members.”

While some of the latest news in the Teamsters has been the dramatic cuts to 400,000 Teamsters in the Central States Pension Fund, fresh on the minds of UPS workers has been the concessionary contract Hoffa handed UPS at a time when UPS was making record profits.

Mark Timlin, a UPS package driver and leader of the Vote No movement at UPS, decided to get involved with the Teamsters United campaign. He pointed out that Hoffa Jr. was never a worker and doesn't understand worker issues.

“Hoffa Jr. was once a corporate lawyer while Fred Zuckerman came up from the rank and file and listens and understands Teamsters. Zuckerman and his Teamsters United slate will put an end to contracts being negotiated on corporate terms,” Timlin commented.

Part-time Teamsters are also campaigning for the Teamsters United slate hoping for more full-time jobs and better working conditions in the warehouses.

“I want to know that when I organize on the shop floor that my union will listen to us. But instead we have this culture brought by Hoffa to accept the conditions we work under and discourage change,” said Gabriella Killpack, a part-time UPS worker in Utah.

The campaign is heating up as Teamsters from around the country are organizing to stop Hoffa's concessions. In a time of growing economic uncertainty and disparity, Fred Zuckerman and the Teamsters United slate will bring a new era that Teamsters can be proud of and will also bring a significant contribution to the entire working class in their fight against corporate greed.

“Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. has been running this union since 1999, the entire time I've been working at UPS,” said Benjamin Cline, a ten-year Teamster volunteering for the Teamsters United campaign. “I continue to watch companies like UPS reach record profits year after year while our contracts have gotten worse. We want is a leadership with as much fight as the members. This should be inspiring for all workers, not just Teamsters.”

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #Hoffa #FredZuckerman #TeachersUnions

Teamsters United general president candidate Fred Zuckerman proposed several debates to the Hoffa/Hall slate before vice presidential candidate Ken Hall finally accepted. It is unknown why current General President Jimmy Hoffa Jr., refused to debate reform candidate Fred Zuckerman, but many have speculated that Hoffa was afraid of being exposed as a lapdog of big business.

Fred Zuckerman received cheers from around the bar as workers listened to his plan for rebuilding the Teamsters. Zuckerman promises to end corruption in the union, refocus on organizing core industries, and end the practice of agreeing to concessionary contracts. Ken Hall repeatedly tried to attack Zuckerman's legacy with half-truths and made bizarre statements indicating that apathy towards the union from the membership was a sign of good leadership.

Jacksonville rank-and-file Teamsters who watched the debate heckled the TV screen as Ken Hall dodged questions, including questions about the recently exposed corruption of Rome Aloise, Hoffa's top leader out west. Many Teamsters in Jacksonville and around the nation are tired of seeing their union collaborate with big business and are getting involved with the Teamsters United campaign to fight for stronger leadership and a stronger union.

#JacksonvilleFL #Teamsters #FredZuckerman #TeamstersUnited

In making his announcement, Zuckerman said, “Hoffa has failed to organize in our core industries of carhaul, freight, warehousing, and grocery... He's negotiated concessionary contracts, even during a time when companies like UPS were making billions of dollars.  To protect the members we have, we need to rebuild organizing efforts in each and every one of those industries.”

Zuckerman made the announcement on a nationwide conference call to supporters January 10, 2016.

During the last contract at UPS, Zuckerman as President of Teamsters Local 89 set an example when his Local union overwhelmingly, repeatedly, and consistently voted down the UPS contract and its supplements. Teamsters Local 89 with reform Teamster leaders across the country formed the central leadership of a “Vote No” campaign in opposition to Hoffa’s bad deal with UPS.

Despite this, in a move that stretched the legality of the Teamster constitution, Hoffa signed the concessionary agreement.

“Hoffa’s sellout looked like a done deal until Fred Zuckerman’s Local 89 and other reform leaders stood up to the sellout,” said Teamsters Local 344 activist Adam Frederick, “this gave me the strength to speak out as part of a national movement fighting for all UPS workers.”

Zuckerman will run with other reformers on the Teamsters United slate. Initially, Teamsters United announced Tim Sylvester would run for President, but moved Zuckerman into the slot after Sylvester was defeated in a local union election.

Zuckerman joined the Teamsters when he helped organize Houston’s Chemical Express workers in 1979. Later he took a job as a car hauler in Kentucky which made him a member of Local 89. As an active member, he became a steward for 7 years, then a business agent, and was elected Local 89 President in 2000.

Zuckerman also held the important national position of Grievance Panel Chair under Presidents Ron Carey and Jim Hoffa. Then he was the IBT Carhaul Director until he broke with Hoffa’s failed leadership. Along with being president of Teamsters Local 89, Zuckerman is currently the President of Teamsters Joint Council 94. Under Zuckerman’s leadership, Local 89 is known for its organizing of new union members and fighting the boss to protect their members’ standard of living.

Zuckerman wants to fight at UPS as well as for the national freight truckdrivers, carhaul drivers, and other core Teamster industries. He argues for mobilizing the membership to fight for a better standard of living for all Teamsters. This stands in stark contrast to Hoffa’s “Let’s make a deal!” approach.

#LouisvilleKY #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #TeamstersPresident #FredZuckerman