Minneapolis, MN – Trade unionists, historians, community members and descendants of strikers held several events in Minneapolis this past weekend, July 18 -20 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the historic strikes by truck drivers and helpers, members of Teamsters Local 574. The three successive strikes in 1934 resulted in the defeat of the Citizen's Alliance, an anti-labor group of employers that controlled city government. The strikes established the industrial form of union organization for the first time in the trucking industry and set the stage for the organization of over-the road drivers throughout an 11-state area, eventually transforming the International Brotherhood of Teamsters into a million-plus member union.
¡Lucha y Resiste! entrevistó a Richard Berg (RB), candidato a vicepresidente de la Hermandad Internacional de Teamsters para la Planilla de Contratos Fuertes y Buenas Pensiones de Tom Leedham. Berg es también un líder clave en la lucha contra la corrupción en el Local 743 de Chicago. El resultado de la elección de los Teamsters es vital para todos los trabajadores Teamsters e impactará la dirección del movimiento de trabajadores.
Richard Berg estuvo empleado en el Hospital de la Universidad de Chicago (HUdeCH) como parte del departamento de limpieza por 16 años. En el 2004 fue despedido por una petición del corrupto jefe principal del sindicato Local 743 de los Teamsters, irónicamente el sindicato al que pertenecía Berg. En dos ocasiones en ese mismo año encabezó las listas del Nuevo Liderato de Reformistas (New Leadership Slate-NLS) y ganó ambas elecciones, pero su triunfo le fue negado por el robo masivo de votos por parte de la pandilla de Watson. Entonces, los pandilleros decidieron eliminar de una vez por todas a su oponente. Sí, Richard no trabajaba en el hospital no podría ser miembro del sindicato Local 743. Por lo tanto, no podría nunca ser candidato para el liderazgo del sindicato otra vez.
El 31 de diciembre, cinco miembros del Local 743 (Teamsters) que fueron los ganadores de las últimas elecciones, entraron a las oficinas para recibir las llaves de sus oponentes, los cuales perdieron las elecciones. El anterior presidente Richard Lopez sabía que había sido derrotado y que podría ir a la cárcel.
There is a big battle going on in the Teamsters Union, pitting reformers against corrupt officials. In Chicago, Teamster union reform leaders, President Richard Berg and Secretary Treasurer Gina Alvarez of Local 743 were removed from office by Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa Jr. this past Friday. Hoffa’s action aids corrupt union officials and criminals trying to worm their way back into Chicago’s Teamster unions. Fight Back! interviewed Richard Berg just before he received the official letter from Hoffa Jr.
Chicago, IL – Fight Back! learned May 9 that Jimmy Hoffa, Jr., at a meeting in Las Vegas, has joined with the corrupt Teamsters officials in Chicago to remove President Richard Berg and Secretary Treasurer Gina Alvarez from office in Local 743. Berg and Alvarez are rank-and-file reformers who fought for years against the gangsters who ran their union while Hoffa and officers of the Joint Council in Chicago turned a blind eye to the corruption in the local.
_Hoffa Grants Stay of Effectiveness to Berg and Alvarez _
Chicago, IL – Two days after Teamsters Joint Council 25 suspended Richard Berg and Gina Alvarez from office over trumped up charges, the International president, Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. has granted them a stay of effectiveness. This will be in place until the international hears their appeal. Berg and Alvarez will be restored to their positions in the union immediately.
Chicago, IL – Chicago Teamster bosses ousted reformers Richard Berg and Gina Alvarez from union office today in a power struggle between grassroots reformers and old guard Teamster officials over one of the largest Teamster local unions in Chicago and the country.
Chicago, IL – Richard Berg es un sindicalista del ala reformista de los Teamsters. Actualmente, lo están amenazando con la expulsión del sindicato de aseo del Hospital de la Universidad de Chicago (HUC) Local 743. El es miembro desde 1988. Los bandidos que dirigen el sindicato quieren expulsarlo por el crimen de defender a los trabajadores.
Chicago IL – Los funcionarios del local 743 del sindicato de Camioneros (Teamsters) en Chicago jamas luchan en contra de los patrones. No organizan huelgas, y dicen a los miembros que una huelga es una cosa mala. El resultado es contratos pobres, aumentos cada vez menores, personas que no son miembros del sindicato haciendo trabajos de los miembros, y la desaparencia de beneficios que en un tiempo eran decentes. Los 14,000 miembros del local 743, que son trabajadores de industria, oficinistas, de bodegas y de cuidado de salud, ya están hartos.
Chicago IL – En una decisión sorprendiente, integrantes del local número 743 del Sindicato de Camioneros (Teamsters) votaron a favor de una planilla de delegados de tendencia democrática de la base a la convención de su sindicato, rechazando a otra planilla dominada por funcionarios y por títeres del presidente nacional de la unión Jimmy Hoffa Jr. La convención internacional del sindicato establece las posiciones políticas del organismo y nomina los candidatos para la presidencia internacional y la Junta Ejecutiva del mismo.
Chicago, IL – The University of Chicago Hospital employed Richard Berg as a housekeeper for 16 years. In 2004, they fired him at the request of Bob Walston, the criminal that was principal officer in Teamsters Local 743, Berg’s union. Berg had led the New Leadership Slate (NLS) that had twice won in local elections that year, but each time had been denied their elective offices by the massive theft of votes by Walston’s gang. The gangsters decided to eliminate the challenge once and for all: if Berg didn’t work in a Local 743 shop, he couldn’t be a member of the union and could never run for office again.
Chicago, IL – Five union reformers entered the offices of Teamsters Local 743 Dec. 31 to receive keys to the union hall from their opponents who had lost election in the fall. The old president Richard Lopez knew he was defeated and that he might be going to jail.
Fight Back! has been a supporter of the reform movement in the Teamsters since we began publishing, but the struggle inside Teamsters Local 743 began years earlier. We interviewed Richard Berg, the president-elect of Local 743 about the history and meaning of the victory over the sell-out gangsters that dominated that union for so many years.
Fight Back! interviewed Richard Berg, a candidate for vice-president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on the Tom Leedham Strong Contracts, Good Pensions Slate. Berg is also a key rank-and-file leader who has spearheaded the fight against corruption in Chicago’s Teamster Local 743. The outcome of the Teamsters election is vital for all working Teamsters and will impact the direction of the labor movement as a whole.
Las Vegas, NV – Richard Berg, a long-time leader in the Teamster reform movement in Chicago, was assaulted at the International Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Chicago, IL – Richard Berg stood with workers who are members of Teamsters Local 743 in front of the Russian Turkish Bathhouse on Division Street. “This place is run by the mob. Everyone knows it,” stated Berg, presidential candidate for the Teamsters Local 743 reform group, the New Leadership Slate (NLS). “Our local is run by gangsters as well. We want it back.”
Chicago, IL – Are Jimmy Hoffa’s days numbered as president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters? Many rank-and-file activists think it is time for a new leader. Chicago Teamster activist Adrian Esquivel said, “Hoffa broke every promise he made, it’s time we elect a real Teamster with the strength and courage to turn this union around.”
Chicago, IL – It wasn’t the usual lunch hour. Everyone that walked past the University of Chicago administration building saw it. Students, community activists, members of SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Local 73, the Illinois Nurses Association and the Teamsters Local 743 marching together, all united to fight for reform Teamster, Richard Berg.