In 2018 many rank-and-file union members and leaders participated in a far-reaching campaign to win a “No” vote against a widely unpopular proposed national contract with UPS. They haven’t forgotten the Hoffa administration’s use of an obscure clause in the union’s constitution – known as the Two-Thirds Rule – to forcibly impose the contract, despite the members voting to reject it.

Now the Teamster Convention is coming in June and July 2021. At the convention, nominations for International leadership positions, along with proposals for amendments to the constitution, will take place. Delegates will be there to support both the reform-driven “Teamsters United” slate, led by Sean O’Brien and Fred Zuckerman, and backed by Teamsters for a Democratic Union, as well as the Hoffa-appointed old-guard-successor “Teamster Power” slate led by Steve Vairma and Ron Herrera.

Thousands of Teamsters continue to work under the imposed UPS contract which includes an unpopular 22.4 hybrid job classification, in which UPS workers are working more hours for less pay with fewer protections. The memory of the 2018 contract battle remains a clear driver of rank-and-file momentum for reform and better leadership. The contract expires in 2023.

Severin Mortensen, a Teamsters United member and steward at UPS in Lansing, Michigan said, “During the previous contract cycle, a two-tier wage system and a number of other concessions were on the table. The members rightly voted it down, but Hoffa, Dennis Taylor, and the other old guard leadership forced the contract through anyway. With the IBT convention and international elections coming up, we have an opportunity to remove the two-thirds rule that was used to impose the contract and kick out the company collaborators at the top.”

Those who are organizing to remove the Hoffa leadership say they need an amended constitution that respects the vote of the members and a stronger contract with UPS that no longer includes a two-tier wage system.

Thousands of rank-and-file Teamsters have organized against the massively profitable UPS and continue to rally around a broad coalition that supports the O’Brien-Zuckerman slate. They say they want to build an International Brotherhood of Teamsters that is ready and willing to organize, fight back and, when need be, strike, for all its members.

Beau Hawk is a steward and a member of Teamsters Local 519

#ChattanoogaTN #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #TeamstersUnited

Tampa, FL – Rank-and-file Teamsters all across the country have been petitioning for the O’Brien-Zuckerman leadership slate accreditation for the upcoming 2021 Teamster election. The slate, out of the Teamsters United coalition, is led by Sean O’Brien for general president and Fred Zuckerman for general secretary-treasurer. Teamsters United is a large coalition within the Teamsters union fighting for better contracts, a stronger union, and for worker power against the boss.

Current General President James P. Hoffa has been in the office for over 20 years and will be stepping down in 2021. Hoffa’s time as president has been marked by concessions and givebacks to companies like UPS, YRC, and ABF. Most notably, Hoffa forced through the 2018 UPS Teamster contract despite a historic majority “No” vote. Hoffa has already shown support for another leadership slate, Vairma-Herrera.

In 2016 Teamsters United’s slate received the majority of votes in the United States but was narrowly defeated after the Canadian Teamsters’ votes were counted. After Hoffa’s lack of action during the COVID-19 pandemic and continued concessions and givebacks, the Teamster United reform slate is in a strong position to win.

“Throughout this petition drive, I have consistently seen and heard how fed up many Teamsters are by the current leadership, particularly because of the union contract. I joined the O’Brien Zuckerman petition drive to fight for a better union and stronger contract, for current and future Teamsters,” said Lindsey Hamann, a UPS package car driver in Teamsters Local 344. “Coming from a grassroots movement, led by rank-and-file workers and Teamsters United leaders, this is a fight we are going to win.”

#TampaFL #Teamsters #UPS #TeamstersUnited #OBrienZuckerman #SeanOBrien

“We’re building a coalition for a new direction,” stated Campos. “A stronger Teamsters union and a stronger labor movement.”

Teamsters United was born out of a struggle against weak union leadership and concessions from employers such as UPS, ABF and UPS Freight. After a historic rejection of the national master UPS agreement in 2014, Fred Zuckerman, president of Teamsters 89 in Louisville, gained national fame as his local voted in record numbers to continue to reject Hoffa’s concessions.

After multiple rounds of ‘no’ votes, Hoffa forced the contract on Local 89 and other parts of the country, weakening health benefits, leaving loopholes in the contract that allow UPS management to relentlessly harass and fire drivers, as well as concessions to the record-profit-making UPS.

Shortly after, Zuckerman announced he was running for general president against Hoffa in the 2016 International election. With the power of the rank and file, Zuckerman’s Teamsters United took on Hoffa’s money and loyalists and won the majority of the United States and a majority of UPS votes, yet narrowly lost by a few thousand votes due to a larger vote for Hoffa in Canada, where Hoffa doesn’t negotiate contracts. Teamsters United did win six regional vice presidency seats.

Moving forward, ousted package division director and president of Teamsters 25 in Boston, Sean O’Brien, joined Teamsters United and has made plans to run a general president of the Teamsters on the Teamsters United slate, backed by Fred Zuckerman as his secretary treasurer.

“The addition of Juan Campos as vice president at-large on the Teamsters United slate makes the reformers and fighters in the Teamsters union the frontrunners in the next international election,” commented Chicago package car steward Daniel Ginsberg. “Myself and many others will be campaigning vigorously for we want to see a leadership with as much fight as the members.”

Campos joins the slate at a time when his Local 705 stood up and fought back against the IBT and UPS during the most recent contract. With the odds stacked against them in terms of a strike, Local 705 proved that even tough negotiations and a threat of a strike can win improvements, winning the best UPS/Teamster contract in the country.

“Hoffa’s capitulation at UPS comes during a wave of successful strikes and labor actions that has revitalized the union movement across the nation,” read a press release issued by the O’Brien-Zuckerman slate at the time of Campos’ announcement.

While Hoffa may not run again, his cronies are scrambling to put together a Hoffa-like slate. By Campos joining Teamsters United, and with the anger of Teamsters everywhere, change is quite possible.

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal705 #TeamstersUnited #JuanCampos

Jacksonville, FL – Standing in front of more than 100 Teamsters gathered in a Boston, Massachusetts park, May 29, two Teamster leaders announced plans to run together for the leadership of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) in 2021.

Sean O’Brien, president of Teamsters Local 25 out of Boston, announced he will join the Teamsters United movement as candidate for general president. Fred Zuckerman, president of Teamsters Local 89 out of Louisville, Kentucky, will run with O’Brien for general secretary-treasurer.

“Fred and I started this journey together a year ago, when we decided it was best to try and unify our membership,” said O’Brien, speaking before the crowd. “We are 1.4 million strong. 1.4 million strong. There’s no reason we shouldn’t exercise our strength to make sure our members are taken care of, because it’s not a top-down organization.”

Announcing the joint ticket, O’Brien said he decided to join the Teamsters United movement to bring “together Teamster officers and members to stand up to employ