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 employers and save our union.”

The Teamsters United slate will challenge the current leadership of the IBT under Jim Hoffa Jr., who has presided over the union for nearly two decades. Ken Hall, the current secretary-treasurer of the IBT who won re-election last year on Hoffa’s slate, has announced his own candidacy.

“He [Hoffa] wants to be friends with corporate America,” said O’Brien in his announcement speech. “He doesn’t understand who put him there – that is you, the members. And we’re never going to lose sight of that fact.”

The Teamsters United platform: Fight employers, resist concessions, revive the strike

The 2016 Teamsters international election brought together fighters, leaders and activists from across the union committed to challenging the current IBT leadership under Jim Hoffa Jr. Out of this effort came the Teamsters United movement, which put forward a militant platform around fighting employers for better contracts, resisting concessions, reviving the strike weapon, organizing the unorganized in core Teamster industries, and more.

Zuckerman ran as the Teamsters United candidate for general president in 2016, coming within 6024 votes of defeating current IBT president Jim Hoffa Jr. The Teamsters United slate won the vote total in the U.S. and among the nearly 240,000 UPS Teamsters, 70% of whom voted for Zuckerman. In the Central and Southern Regions, Teamsters United defeated Hoffa and elected six of its candidates as international vice presidents.

“We supported Fred Zuckerman in 2016 because he ran on the Teamsters United platform of fighting for better contracts, opposing concessions, reviving the strike weapon, organizing in core industries and protecting our pensions,” said Dustin Ponder, a UPS shop steward in Teamsters Local 512 out of Jacksonville, Florida. “That platform is key to making a stronger union and winning a better life for our members. I hope O’Brien and Zuckerman take up the same platform in 2021.”

Ponder was part of the Teamsters United campaign in the Southern Region, which defeated the Hoffa-Hall ticket handily in 2016. Teamsters United won the south by a vote of 10,789 to 8227 in 2016, electing John Palmer and Kimberley Schultz as the new Southern Region Vice Presidents – a sharp reversal from the previous election, when Hoffa easily won against a divided opposition slate.

Since that time, Teamsters United has continued on-the-ground organizing around the country to win better contracts and fight back against contract concessions. They are currently pushing for a strong ‘yes’ vote for strike authorization among UPS and UPS Freight Teamsters.

The main event: Fighting for a better contract at UPS

“The main fight right now is the battle for better contracts at UPS and UPS Freight,” said Gabriella Killpack, a UPS package car driver in Teamsters Local 222 out of Salt Lake City, Utah who campaigned heavily for Teamsters United in 2016.

Killpack refers to the ongoing contract negotiations between the Teamsters, UPS and UPS Freight, which began earlier this year. The union raised a set of contract proposals brought forward by members to address the problems they face on the job. These included an end to forced overtime for package car drivers, monetary penalties for harassment, protections from automation and driverless vehicles, and higher wages for part-timers, among many others.

Since that time, Teamster lead negotiator Denis Taylor has reportedly backed off most of the union’s major proposals and embraced many of the concessions demanded by UPS. After purging half of the negotiating committee opposed to concessions, Taylor called a strike authorization vote for UPS and UPS Freight Teamsters, which began on May 16 and will continue through June 3. The union will announce the results on June 5, a little under two months before both collective bargaining agreements are set to expire.

Speaking to the news, Killpack said, “This announcement by two important Teamster leaders comes at a time when our members are mad as hell and ready to fight the company, up to and including a strike if necessary. O’Brien and Zuckerman have a real opportunity to help lead the fight for an end to forced overtime; $15 per hour starting wages and $5 per hour bump raises for part-timers, monetary penalties for harassment, and protecting our job standards at UPS. That’s what Teamsters want to see right now from our leaders.”

O’Brien and Zuckerman’s history

O’Brien made national news in September 2017 when Hoffa removed him as the package division director in charge of negotiating the UPS contract. While he ran on Hoffa’s slate in the 2016 election, O’Brien reached out to Zuckerman and other Teamsters United leaders after the campaign and pushed for their inclusion on the UPS negotiating team.

“Hoffa refused,” said O’Brien. “When I tried to hold him to his word about unifying the union, I was fired. That’s Hoffa’s way of dealing with differing opinions. You can’t build a strong union that way.”

O’Brien’s removal as package division director puts him in good company with another Teamsters United leader. In 2012, Hoffa removed Zuckerman as carhaul director for fighting against contract concessions and challenging his slate in the 2011 international election.

“I believe Hoffa removed O’Brien because of his aggressive stance with the company,” said Zuckerman in a statement last year. “I have seen him be aggressive with the company, deadlock grievances to arbitration that would normally be lost, meet with the members assuring them that he would deliver a good contract and suggest a possible strike against UPS if the contract was not satisfactory. This was not talk – he demonstrated these things by his actions.”

Teamsters react to the news

The news came as a surprise to Teamsters activists across the country, many of whom are working to turn out a strong ‘yes’ vote in the UPS and UPS Freight strike authorization poll currently underway. Members and activists flocked to social media, like the popular ‘Vote NO on the UPS Contract’ Facebook group, and discussed the announcement – and what it means moving forward.

“We want to support leaders who are willing to fight employers and not take concessions from corporate America,” said Jared Hamil, a UPS cover driver out of Teamsters Local 396 in Los Angeles, who is active in the Teamsters United movement. “That’s the problem with Hoffa’s leadership – there’s a rat line between the corruption at the top of the IBT and the sellout contracts that Teamsters get year after year.”

Corey Uhl, a UPS combo worker out of Teamsters Local 804 in New York, agreed, adding, “Teamsters United is a movement built by members who want to make our union fight – not sell us out to employers, like we’ve seen from Hoffa. We welcome leaders committed to the same platform.”

Moving forward: Militant platform, united action

With the next international election more than three years away, Teamsters United has more immediate fights on its plate, like the UPS and UPS Freight contracts.

But continuing to build the Teamsters United coalition for the 2021 election remains crucial.

Recent Teamster history shows the importance of united action from union fighters and activists. In 2011, the opposition movement to Hoffa divided into two separate slates with different platforms. Hoffa easily defeated both and won re-election, allowing him and Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall to push deep concessions like the UPS contract of 2013.

“The Teamsters United movement succeeded in 2016 because it brought together fighters around a militant platform,” said Bob Kolstad, a shop steward in the Hennepin County Public Defender’s Office out of Teamsters Local 320 in Minneapolis. “As we campaigned across the country for Fred, we saw how the Teamsters United platform resonated with members who are tired of seeing our jobs and our lives get worse. We stood united, even with Teamsters we disagreed with, to make historic change. We’ll need to do that again to beat Hoffa in 2021, and we need that same militant Teamsters United platform to get it done.”

Dave Schneider is a UPS Teamster shop steward out of Jacksonville, FL. Richard Blake provided research for the article.

#JacksonvilleFL #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #TeamstersUnited #Zuckerberg #OBrien

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

Since taking power in 1998, Hoffa has run for re-election four times, most recently in 2011 against a divided opposition. This win for the reformer Teamsters United slate makes history as the first time an entire region voted down Hoffa and his slate.

Challenging Hoffa and weak, sellout union leaders

In his 17 years as general president, Hoffa has presided over almost two decades of concessionary contracts, declining membership – especially in core Teamster industries like freight and car haul – and countless corruption scandals. Most recently, federal authorities filed charges on Hoffa's secretary-treasurer, Ken Hall, for obstructing an investigation into corruption in the Teamsters.

While Hoffa's corrupt reign sparked opposition from the start, two major factors in the last five years have poured gasoline on the proverbial flame. First, Teamsters at UPS – the single largest employer of Teamsters and the largest private sector union employer in the U.S. – voted overwhelmingly to reject a concessionary contract negotiated by Hoffa and Hall in 2013. Unable to convince the membership to approve it, Hall used an obscure and legally questionable clause in the union constitution to force it through.

Second, in 2014, Congress approved a bill granting authority to underfund pensions to cut benefits for current retirees. The Teamsters' crisis-ridden Central States Pension Fund – the largest multi-employer pension in the country – immediately applied to the Treasury Department for cuts as deep as 70%. With cuts still looming, members have rightly blamed Hoffa's failure to secure and protect pensions for Teamsters and demanded change.

The Teamsters United slate in 2016 represents the sharpest challenge yet to Hoffa. Established in 2015, the slate drew together a coalition of rank-and-file militants from across the country, reform-minded union leaders, and activists in Teamsters for a Democratic Union. Led by Fred Zuckerman, candidate for Teamsters general president and current president of the massive Local 89 in Louisville, Kentucky, Teamsters United has run on a platform of fighting for better contracts, aggressive industrial organizing in companies like Amazon, protecting pensions from cuts and cracking down on corruption in the union.

After narrowly losing the Eastern Region – where Hoffa benefits from the support of a couple giant locals in New York historically connected to the mob – Teamsters United bounced back to win the South and make history. They flipped big Hoffa locals in Texas, Florida and Georgia, and retained support in places like Tennessee because of the work of countless activists.

Florida: How the South was won

Florida Teamsters gave a hard blow to Hoffa's slate. In 2011, Hoffa won every local union in Florida by a margin of 2851 to 867 in combined opposition votes. This year, Teamsters United crushed Hoffa in Florida by a margin of 2092 to 1800 and winning majorities in six of the state's nine locals.

Historically, Florida and Texas have delivered the bulk of Hoffa's votes in the Southern Region, with their large number of members relative to the region and the lack of an organized opposition. Hoffa loyalists like Ken Wood, president of Local 79 in Tampa Bay and current Southern Region vice president, whipped votes largely unopposed for Hoffa, in exchange for multiple salaries and pensions.

In 2016, however, rank-and-file Teamsters from Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and Miami crafted a statewide strategy to defeat Hoffa and deliver a win for Teamsters United. Beginning in August, these activists began traveling to worksites across the state and into neighboring Georgia to talk with members about Fred Zuckerman, Teamsters United and rebuilding a fighting union.

The result of the strategy speaks for itself, with Florida comprising about 3100 of the nearly 7000 vote swing from Hoffa to Zuckerman that won the Southern Region.

Rank-and-file organizers from Local 512 in Jacksonville, for instance, drove up turnout by 60% and flipped it for Zuckerman by a margin of 302 to 254. By comparison, the same local voted for Hoffa in 2011 by a margin of 197 to 150.

By taking the fight directly to all of the state's locals, especially Hoffa strongholds like Local 769 in Miami, Teamsters United drove up turnout among supporters and won over huge segments of Hoffa voters.

Ballot counting in the Central Region began on Nov. 16, with the Western Region and Canada still to follow. Organizers expect to know the final result of the election by Nov. 18.

#JacksonvilleFL #US #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #TeamstersUnited

“Estoy apoyando a Teamsters Unidos porque quiero que nuestros líderes luchen por nuestros miembros y no por los intereses de la compañía”, dijo Lena Molina, un trabajador de UPS de nueve años de Teamsters Local 63 en California.

Los Teamsters han estado bajo el liderazgo del presidente James P. Hoffa, Jr. por 17 años. El hijo de Jimmy Hoffa, Sr., quien encabezó a los Teamsters desde 1958 hasta 1971, Hoffa Jr. ha supervisado un aumento de las concesiones a los empleadores, el debilitamiento de las pensiones y una disminución de la democracia sindical.

“Los Teamsters están uniéndose después de 17 años de liderazgo fracasado de Hoffa. Los Teamsters están hartos de la corrupción y la traición, ” dijo Fred Zuckerman a Lucha y Resiste. “Esto ha dado lugar a concesiones de contrato, perdiendo nuestro nivel de vida y perdiendo los pensiones de cientos de miles de Teamsters. Los Teamsters están buscando un líder que estará con ellos, no con los empleadores.”

Fred Zuckerman, retador de Hoffa Jr., es el presidente de Teamsters Local 89, uno de los locales más grandes de los Teamsters. Zuckerman ha trabajado en el sindicato en todos los niveles y saltó a la prominencia nacional al oponerse al contrato de concesiones de Hoffa con UPS y por hablar contra de la falta de respuesta de Hoffa a cosas tales como la crisis de las pensiones y la subcontratación.

Los camioneros de UPS están en una gran lucha para parar el plan de la compañía de socavar su trabajo mediante el uso de subcontratistas más baratas, sin sindicato.

Andrew May, un camionero de Teamsters Local 344 explica por qué está a favor de Zuckerman.

“Estoy apoyando a Zuckerman porque necesitamos un líder que ha luchado en contra de la subcontratación y que está dispuesto a luchar por un lenguaje más fuerte en nuestro contrato. Zuckerman luchó contra la subcontratación en la compañía Holland y estaba en proceso de lucha en UPS antes de que Hoffa impuso el contrato sobre los miembros.”

Mientras algunas de las últimas noticias de los Teamsters han sido los recortes drásticos a 400,000 Teamsters en el Fondo de Pensiones de los Estados Centrales, también queda fresco en la mente de los trabajadores de UPS el contrato de concesiones que Hoffa entregó a UPS en un momento en el que UPS estaba haciendo altas ganancias.

Mark Timlin, un conductor de paquetes de UPS y un líder del movimiento de votar en contra del último contrato, decidió involucrarse en la campaña de Teamsters Unidos. Señaló que Hoffa Jr. nunca fue un trabajador y no entiende los problemas de los trabajadores.

“Hoffa Jr. antes fue un abogado de ley de corporaciones, mientras que Fred Zuckerman viene de la base, escucha y comprende a los Teamsters. Zuckerman y su lista de Teamsters Unidos pondrá fin a los contratos que se negocian en los términos impuestos por las corporaciones,” comentó Timlin.

Los Teamsters que trabajan a tiempo parcial también están haciendo campaña para los Teamsters Unidos con la esperanza de conseguir más puestos de trabajo a tiempo completo y mejores condiciones de trabajo en los almacenes.

“Quiero saber que cuando organizo en mi trabajo mi sindicato nos escuchará. Pero en vez de eso actualmente tenemos la cultura traída por Hoffa de aceptar las condiciones en las que trabajamos y desalentar el cambio”, dijo Gabriella Anderson, una trabajadora de media tiempo de UPS en Utah.

La campaña se está calentando mientras los Teamsters de todo el país se están organizando para parar las concesiones de Hoffa. En un momento de creciente incertidumbre y desigualdad económica, Fred Zuckerman y la lista de Teamsters Unidos traerán una nueva era en la que los Teamsters puedan sentir orgullo y también hagan una contribución importante a toda la clase obrera en su lucha contra la avaricia corporativa.

“Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. ha encabezado este sindicato desde el año 1999, todo el tiempo que yo he trabajado por UPS”, dijo Benjamin Cline, un trabajador de diez años y voluntario para la campaña de Teamsters Unidos. “Sigo viendo las empresas como UPS alcanzando ganancias récord año tras año, mientras que nuestros contratos han empeorado. Queremos un líder con tanta garra como los miembros. Esto debería ser fuente de inspiración para todos los trabajadores, no sólo los Teamsters.”

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #TeamstersUnited

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