Fight Back!: Why has Jimmy Hoffa Jr. removed you from office?

Richard Berg: Hoffa has consistently supported corrupt union officials as long as they supported him. We have been fighting against corruption in Local 743 since 1988, for 22 years. The past two Teamster Local 743 presidents are in jail. They stole a Teamster officers’ election from the working members of our union, from our 743 New Leadership Slate, and from myself in 2004. Hoffa did nothing to investigate this theft. When we gave him the evidence he looked the other way. Finally, the U.S. Department of Labor had to step in to prosecute these criminals.

Also, I ran against Hoffa and his slate in 2006. I ran for International Vice President of the Central Region on the Tom Leedham Slate. I received over 40% of the vote. Hoffa's popularity has slipped dramatically, so he wants to eliminate his rivals as a way to keep his job as International Teamster President.

Fight Back!: What were the charges against you and Secretary Treasurer Gina Alvarez?

Richard Berg: There were 10 charges filed against me, and 6 charges filed against Secretary Treasurer Alvarez. All except one was dismissed. I think that they had to dismiss them because they were so obviously biased, charges based on politics, instead of on merit.

The one remaining charge is technical and minor. It stems from a settlement to avoid a lawsuit with a do nothing union representative that worked for local 743. Even though he didn't deserve a penny we paid him $21 thousand. While this is too much, I made the decision in order to save even more money in legal fees. Everyone on the local 743 executive board was notified and no one raised any objections even though they had the right to do so at that time.

Secretary Treasurer Alvarez's involvement was the same as those that filed the charges against us. She simply signed the check along with me. All the charging parties later approved this at the next Local 743 executive board meeting.

The bottom line is that we did nothing wrong. Nothing! This is simply a power grab by those who oppose workers building a fighting labor movement.

Fight Back!: Did either of you benefit personally?

Richard Berg: No, in fact I have cut my salary by $70 thousand a year and cut my benefits by well over 50%. I believe that union officials should live like the workers they represent, not like kings and queens.

Some union leaders resent Secretary Treasurer Alvarez's efforts to eliminate the perks of officers and staff. She looks after Local 743 Members dues money carefully.

Fight Back!: The members of the executive board that brought the charges against you included several that ran with you in 2007. What happened? Why did they turn against you?

Richard Berg: This is a great disappointment. When we ran for office we told the members we would cut the salaries of officers, work hard and put the resources of the union to work for the members. Larry Davis, Chantell Harlin and Fernando Garcia thought that this was just campaign talk. After we won they demanded the same big salaries the old guard officials had. They wanted to hire their friends and pay them big money.

When Secretary Treasurer Alvarez and I resisted this, the conflict started. Eventually they worked with the Hoffa camp to enrich themselves by turning their backs on the reforms that we had put in place.

Fight Back!: The New Leadership Slate in office picked a number of fights with employers in Chicago and northern Indiana, most notably SK Hand Tools in Chicago, where workers struck for over 2 months to defend their right to health care, among other demands. Will the officers that brought charges against you continue this fighting attitude toward the bosses?

Richard Berg: This may by the biggest difference between us and them. We communicate with the workers. We organize and mobilize local 743 members to fight for dignity and respect on the job, to fight for a better life for themselves and their families.

Those who threw us out are satisfied with local 743 being a company union, a union that collaborates with management. The truth is that they just want the workers dues money for themselves.

Fight Back!: What does this mean for you and Gina Alvarez? Will you be allowed to run for office in the next local elections this year?

Richard Berg: This week Gina and I will file a lawsuit asking the judge to reverse the Hoffa Executive Board's ruling. We believe that the workers should decide who runs their local union, not Hoffa and his cronies.

If we are not successful, the 743 New Leadership Team will run a slate without us. It is not about Gina and I, it is about the workers having a union that will fight in their interests. We will support the 743 New Leadership Team whether we are candidates on it or not.

Fight Back!: Can this attack be stopped?

Richard Berg: The workers have the power to stop this power grab. Despite some officials’ lust for power and money, unions are the organizations of workers. The real working class leadership in this union must step forward and fight to take this union.

#ChicagoIL #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #RichardBerg #JimmyHoffa

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.

While the official decision has yet to be received, Berg confirmed that he has been notified. The decision rests upon a charge brought against Berg and Alvarez by other officers in 743 who had turned against the reform agenda.

The factual basis of the charge is that Berg had let go a former staff member who was no longer able to perform his duties. A severance was agreed upon, which the local executive board was informed of and to which they assented. Six months later, the same board members cooked up a scheme with the top Teamster old guard in Chicago. These ex-reformers knew the Joint Council was dominated by officials who were hostile to Berg and Alvarez’ agenda – reviving a fighting union with power in the hands of the members. The sole charge upon which the two are being removed was Berg’s failure to get an official vote from the board.

While the immediate impact of this is a blow to efforts to rebuild a fighting workers’ movement in the Teamsters, the members of Local 743 are not likely to watch the sell-outs turn back the hands of time. At the members meeting last week, worker after worker rose from the floor to speak against threats to remove Berg and Alvarez. Black, Latino and white, workers remember what the union was like under the old gangsters, with sweetheart deals that favored management, and crummy contracts.

#ChicagoIL #Teamsters743 #RichardBerg #JimmyHoffa #Jr

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.

The two reform leaders of Local 743 were charged with corruption. Ironically, neither of them was accused of personally benefiting in any of the charges brought against them. In fact, Secretary Treasurer Alvarez and President Berg had worked to put the local union back into the hands of the members after decades of true corruption. The officers of the local for years before Berg and Alvarez had stolen elections and forced sell-out contracts onto members. These practices were accepted by the Joint Council.

In recent months, Berg and Alvarez helped lead the workers at SK Hand Tools to a victorious strike to defend health care benefits. That strike gained national attention, including coverage in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. The leader of the executive board in the local that charged them is Larry Davis, who played no role in the SK strike.

President Berg expressed to Fight Back! the gratitude he and Secretary Treasurer Alvarez felt for the outpouring of support they received from friends, allies and workers in the local since the news of their removal from office broke on Monday evening.

#ChicagoIL #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #RichardBerg #JimmyHoffa #GinaAlvarez #TeamstersJointCouncil25

Fight Back!: Why does Hoffa have to go?

Richard Berg: Teamsters originally supported Hoffa, Jr. because they associated his name with strength. Teamsters across the country know that the bosses are not respecting us. They are beating down workers while our standard of living falls.

When Hoffa ran for office he promised to not raise union dues, to end corruption and improve the Teamster pension plans. He has failed on all three promises.

First, shortly after the election in 2001 he held a special convention and instituted the largest dues increase in Teamster history. He has not used this money to restore Teamster power as promised. Instead we have witnessed a steady rise in salaries and special perks for Teamster officials.

Secondly, Hoffa hired former federal prosecutor Edward Steir to investigate and rid the Teamsters of organized crime influences. This was supposed to set the stage to end government oversight of the Teamsters. Instead, when Steir found evidence of corruption and mob ties in Chicago, Hoffa ordered him to not pursue his investigation of Hoffa allies. Steir and his entire staff resigned in protest. Hoffa no longer talks about how he will rid the Teamsters of corruption.

Finally, after negotiating insufficient employer contributions to maintain current benefit levels in Teamster pension funds with United Parcel Service (UPS), Hoffa declared that he had negotiated the best contract ever. The same was repeated with truck drivers in the master freight agreement. Now, as the Teamsters Central States Pension Fund and other Teamsters funds make major benefit cuts, it is apparent that Hoffa lied to us.

Fight Back!: Why is the Tom Leedham Slate such an improvement over Hoffa?

Berg: The Tom Leedham Strong Contracts, Good Pensions slate understands that we need a fighting union again. We understand that our power comes from the rank-and-file workers and not a famous name. The bosses from UPS to University of Chicago Hospitals, where I work, are interested increased profits, not improving the lot of their workers.

The Tom Leedham slate is committed to using the resources of the union to fight to improve the condition of all workers. Instead of raising officers’ salaries, we will use that money to organized new members in core industries. We will use that money to research Teamster companies and organize the rank and file to fight for better wages and working conditions.

The famous abolitionist Frederick Douglas told us that, “Power concedes nothing without a demand.” We have learned this lesson in the Teamsters as well. The Tom Leedham slate is committed to build a fighting Teamsters union that is up to the challenges of the most hardnosed employers.

Fight Back!: How are working Teamsters reacting to your campaign?

Berg: I have traveled extensively and the response has been wonderful. Teamsters know that Hoffa lied to them. They want to hear what we have to say. They listen, they ask questions and they respond positively. The Leedham slate has a plan to get us out of the hole that Hoffa put us in. When working Teamsters hear it, they approve. Teamsters can see that our plan could lead not only to a new Teamsters union, but a new and stronger labor movement.

#UnitedStates #Interview #Interviews #Teamsters #TomLeedham #RichardBerg