Reformers banded together and formed the 743 New Leadership Team/El Nuevo Liderazgo. The vote is over. It appears that the election was stolen, marking a loss for the for 743 New Leadership Team as well as rank-and-file workers.

With four slates running, the Movement Towards Members slate headed by Donnie Von Moore was declared the winner by an election officer that they hired, Steven M Bierig. Bierig declared that Von Moore received 26.9% of those voting, 574 votes. The 743 New Leadership Team came in a virtual tie with another slate for second place with roughly 530 votes each. Only 2040 out of 10,020 workers participated in the election.

Larry Davis, who orchestrated the sham charges against Richard Berg and Eugenia Alvarez, came in dead last. Exposed to the workers of Local 743 and betrayed by those who used him, Davis leaves office in disgrace. In full view of the membership, most union representatives barely did their jobs during the election and campaigned full time for their candidate, Donnie Von Moore.

Thousands of members, mostly Latino, did not receive ballots at their homes or when they did vote they were challenged by the union. It was widely thought that the overwhelming majority of the Latino vote would go to New Leadership Team /Nuevo Liderazgo. In fact, they were the only slate that seriously campaigned in shops dominated by Latino members. James Cook, a steward from University of Chicago Medical Center said, “Clearly Latinos have been denied their votes.”

In 2001 and 2004 Fight Back! reported about stolen elections in Local 743. In 2007 we reported on the victory of reformers in a U.S. Department of Labor-run election. With the Department of Labor gone, it appears the election was stolen by using some old tricks as well as refusing to process address changes for Latinos and others 743 New Leadership Team supporters.

Von Moore has long been on the shady side of 743 affairs. Just months ago he presided over a giveaway of the defined benefit pension for close to 1000 workers at Rush University Medical Center. Nursing home administrators supported Von Moore, knowing he would take them back to the ‘good ol’ days’ of undercutting contracts of other SEIU unionized nursing homes in the area.

New Leadership Team presidential candidate J Burger said, “Making the Von Moore leadership accountable to the members won’t be easy, but must be done to prevent the return of back room deals, higher officer salaries and poor member representation. Only an active and informed membership can make this happen.”

A source inside the 743 New Leadership Team told Fight Back! that a post-election protest has been filed. Many workers who supported the New Leadership Team/El Nuevo Liderazgo will continue their efforts to build a fighting workers movement. This includes support for Sandy Pope as she takes on James Hoffa for Teamster International President.

#ChicagoIL #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate

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

Berg es el Presidente de la lista por un Nuevo Liderato del Local 743. Berg fue entrampado por un empleado, que a su vez fue pagado por la administración y los corruptos lideres del sindicato. En febrero 24, Berg fue llevado a una Corte Kangaroo (Corte Parcializada). Allí lo acusaron de racista. Los jueces y los corruptos líderes del sindicato rehusaron permitir la lectura de una petición en apoyo de Berg como evidencia. Esta petición fue firmada por más de 80 de sus compañeros de trabajo. Es de anotar que la petición fue firmada por casi todos los afro americanos del sindicato en HUC, la petición decía: “El compañero Berg siempre ha tratado a todos los miembros con dignidad y respeto de acuerdo con la (IBT) constitución y reglamento del Local 743. Nosotros estamos orgullosos de que el sea el representante (Steward) del Local 743 de la HUC.”

Berg esta esperando la decisión de los oficiales vendidos del Local. El puede recibir sanciones muy duras, tales como ser suspendido del comité de las negociaciones del UCH. Además, puede ser impedido de competir en contra de los corruptos líderes del Local 743. También, hay rumores de que puede ser expulsado del Internacional Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT).

Berg fue franco en la última Convención Internacional. De allí que se piense que Jimmy Hoffa, el actual presidente de los Teamsters, firme las sanciones decididas por su sequito.

Las elecciones robadas del 2001 condujeron a la lucha por las reformas del reglamento.

Robert Watson es el presidente del Local 743, el se tomo esta posición a través de medios ilegales. Richard Berg fue candidato a presidente y jefe de la lista por Nuevo Liderato del local sindical mencionado. Watson utilizo el poder que le da esta posición para seleccionar los jueces. Los jueces anularon cientos de votos en favor de Berg. Toda vía más, muchos más votos de una casilla postal fueron desaparecidos que eran en favor de Berg. De esta casilla postal había solo una llave y esta llave la tenia un miembro de la lista que encabezaba Watson.

Jim Fennerty es un abogado de la lista por un Nuevo Liderato del Local 743, señalo: “Esto es muy obvio. Se trata de un ataque a Berg por parte de la pandilla de Watson. Ellos están utilizando el poder que les dan las posiciones robadas para negar a los miembros del sindicato un Vocero.”

La coincidencia de estas acciones tan cronometradas no es un milagro. El 1 de marzo ocurrió una histórica elección sobre los s reglamentos del Local sindical. Por primera vez desde que el Local fue establecido en el 1938. La lista de la base realizo un gran esfuerzo para cambiar los reglamentos a través de una campana llamada de Dignidad y Respeto. Las falsas acusaciones a Berg son un atentado para derrotar este esfuerzo de los trabajadores.

El esfuerzo para cambiar el reglamento tenia el propósito de dar fuerza a los reclamos de los miembros de la base del Local 743. Los cambios requerían que los líderes vendidos del sindicato lucharan por los trabajadores y pararan de hacer negociaciones a espaldas de los trabajadores. Estos cambios requerían que el Local sindical informara a los miembros de sus derechos y más importante que se llamara a una elección limpia y transparente.

Watson como presidente del Local 743 no puede permitir que los trabajadores dirijan su sindicato y tengan voz y voto en sus asuntos. Es por esto, que Watson gasto miles de dólares del sindicato para derrotar estas propuestas. Como consecuencia de estas maniobras ilegales, Watson ha permitido que Richard Berg sea acusado con cargos totalmente falsos.

Durante la noche de la elección sobre los cambios al reglamento del Local 743, grupos de trabajadores marcharon a través del recinto de la unión, llamando a una elección limpia y justicia para Richard Berg.

#ChicagoIL #News #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #RichardBerg #TonyCaldera #BobWalston

Chicago IL – Intentaron robar la elección del local 743 del Sindicato de Camioneros (Teamsters) pero los agarraron con las manos en la masa. Bob Walston, Diane Strickland y los demas oficiales del 743 no pudieron ganar una elecciòn por si solos, de modo que recurrieron a la fraude. La elección fue entre la planilla de base de “Liderato Nuevo” contra los elementos corrutos de la vieja guardia.

“Los ladrones roban, esto es un hecho de la vida” dijo Richard Berg, candidato reformistsa en la Planilla Liderato Nuevo, “pero los trabajadores miembros del local 743 no pueden y no deben permitir que estos rateros nos roben nuestro sindicato. No pertenece a los caciques, a la mafia, sino a los trabajadores. No vamos a permitir que la justica, la democracia y nuestra dignidad nos sean robados. Vamos a pelear esto hasta al fin”.

Jimmy Hoffa, hijo, actual presidente internacional de los “Teamsers”, respaldó a la planilla de Walston, y es conocido como un vendido.

¡Un Robo!

El robo de la elección no se hizo en una forma especialmente inteligente. Contrataron a su propio tipo, James Dehann, para manejar a la elección. Pero Dehann no alquiló una caja postal para las balotas de la elección; permitió que Diane Strickland, parte de la planilla de Hoffa, lo hiciera. Esto le dio a ella accesso 24 horas al día a las balotas de la membrasía.

Cuando los miembros de la planilla Liderato Nuevo tomaron a Dehann y a la planilla de Hoffa presentandose en masa para observar cada paso de la elección, no pudieron ocultar al robo. “Encontramos que mas de 300 balotas que se regresaron habían desaparecido bajo su custodia. Cientos de balotas extras aparecieron de quien sabe done” dijo Berg.

En el día en que se contó el voto, Dehann se vio oblicado a recurrir a medidas extraordinarias para evidtar que la Planilla Liderato Nuevo tomara control. Un ejemplo: No permitió que nadie menos el mismo retara a los votantes cuestionables. El oficial de elecciones nobrado por Walston, en plena violación de la constitución del sindicato, eliminó el derecho de cuestionar a las credenciales de las balotas. Cuando Richard Berg señaló lo mal hecho, Dehann le amenazó con arresto y explusión de la propiedad del sindicato.

Este robo es solo uno de una serie de robos cometidos por los actuales oficiales. Esta misma gente causó la quiebra de la unión de crédito del local 743, dando muchos préstamos cuestionables a sus amigotes. Bajo su custodio mas de $16 millones desaparecieron del Fondo de Salud y Bienestar dejandolo en la quiebra tambien.

“Todo mundo ya sabe sus movidas, no pueden ya ganar una elección limppia” dijo Edwin Soto de la Planilla de Liderato Nuevo. “Por eso tienen que recurrir a estas medidas”.

Sigue la Lucha

La planilla Liderato Nuevo ha decidido seguir luchando en contra de este último robo por parte de los Hoffaistas, hasta al fin. La planilla Liderato Nuevo ha levantado cargos con el Consejo Conjunto de los Teamsters tamien está haciendo preparativas para ir al Departamento de Trabajo y a las cortes. “Sabemos que ganamos a esta elección” dijo Debra Simmons, candidata para Tesorera de la Planilla Liderato Nuevo, “no vamos a paraar hasta que se remuevan a estos elementos corruptos del local 743”

La verdadera controversia es de la representación. En todos los 175 y mas lugares donde trabajan miembros del local 743, un contrato estipula todo desde los salarioos a reglas de trabajos y procederes para reclamar una queja, y mucho mas. “Estas personas no han negociado un contrato decente desde ser nombrados” dijo Richard Berg. “Los miembros del local 743 sabemos que están acostados con la gerencia, y estamos hartos. No vamos a descansarnos hasta que se vayan”.

Durante la campaña, la planilla Liderato Nuevo pressntó un plan para acabar con la corrupción en el local 743, hacer que los oficiales locales rindan cuentas a la membrasía, y empezar a gastar las cuotas de los miembros en ellos y no en enriquecer a unos cuantos funcionarios hoffaistas.

#ChicagoIL #News #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #BobWalston #fraudeElectoral

Chicago, IL – William Jenkins, un miembro de la planilla de Liderato Nuevo del local 743, y un profesional de videos con fama nacional, falleció de un ataque cardiaco el 30 de Octubre.

Richard Berg, candidato para presidencia estatal de Liderato Nuevo, dijo “su muerte es un gran golpe al movimiento obrero”.

Un profesional de producción de videos nacionalmente conocido, era presidente del Comité para Aceso Laboral, una organización no lucrativa basada en Chicago que produce el progama televisado en cable “Labor Beat” y “Labor Express” en la radio.

Jenkins, como se conocía y estimaba, era un hombre tranquilo, modesto, y decente. Padre de familia, amigo, activista, videógrafo, compañero y apoyador del movimiento pro- paz y justicia, hizo todo lo que pudo para avanzar al movimiento obrero. Trabajaba el tercer torno en el Hospital Rush-Presbyterian St Lukes, donde hizo mucho trabajo repartiendo el periódico Fight Back!

#ChicagoIL #News #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #WilliamJenkins #CommitteeForLaborAccess

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.

La Planilla Liderato Nuevo ha postulado candidatos para el local 743 en las elecciones que nos acercan. Es una planilla de la base que compromete a que se acabe la corrupción de la “vieja guardia”, a que se contraten mas representantes del sindicato, a que se movilicen a los miembros y que se bajen a los enormes salarios y privilegios de los funcionarios del sindicato. La Planilla Liderato Nuevo incluye empleados de los hospitales de la Universidad de Chicago que están cansados de falsificación del voto en la ratificación del contrato, y tambien empleados que perdieron sus beneficios de salud porque el Presidente internacional Hoffa, Bob Walston y Richard Lopez manejaron mal a los fondos.

“Estamos negociando un contrato en Rush-St. Lukes ahorita. El representante sindical Hoffaista Reggie Ford no presente ningun liderato en estas negociaciones. Si no fuera por la movilización de la membracía por parte de la Planilla de Liderato Nuevo, Ford hubiera regalado todo [a la gerencia]” dijo Debbie Simmons, cadnidata para secretario/tesorero en la planilla Nuevo Liderato.

En vez de protejer a los luchadores de la membracía del siindicato la gente de Hoffa colaboran con la gerencia para que los despidan.

“Este verano se vendió a nuestra compañía, y los dueños nuevos despidieron a trabajadores con mas de 10 años de experiencia” dijo Edwin Soto, un empleado en Flextek, que fue despedido tambien. “Despedieron a los que nosotros que nos opusimos a los patrones cuando violaron a nuestro contrato. Cuando presionabamos al sindicato para recuperar a nuestros trabajos, el presidente del local 743, Bob Watson, amenazó a los trabajadores en vez de luchar por nuestros intereses”. Soto está postulado para síndico en la planilla de Liderato Nuevo.

Richard Berg, candidato para presidencia del local en la Planilla Liderato Nuevo, dijo “los trabajadores miembros de este sindicato hemos unido en contra de la corrupción, y estamos listos a pelear con los patrones por medio de regresar el control del sindicato a sus miembros. Nuestros miembros exigen dignidad y respeto y no vamos a descansarnos hasta sacar a estos rateros y estúpidos del sindicato”.

En locales del sindicato de Camioneros en todo Chicago, es notable el número de contratos débiles. “Hay bastantes trabajadores latinos maltratados” dijo Mercy Soto, que trabaja torno de noche descargando camiones en UPS en local 705. “He hecho campaña en lugares de trabajo pertenecientes al local 743 donde los contratos establecen dos 'capas' de trabajadores” con diferentes salarios. “A los trabajadores latinos los contratan a un salario debajo de lo que dice el contrato. Si los trabajadores se quejan, se quedan despedidos y el sindicato no lucha a su favor” dice Soto.

“La gente está cansada de que los patrones los amenazan y luego los funcionarios del sindicato les dicen que a menos que se queden callados, se les van a echar la Migra encima” agregó.

La planilla de Liderato Nuevo se considera parte del nuevo movimiento obrero en este país. En la convención de los Camioneros (Teamsters) en 2001, los candidatos de la planilla Liderato Nuevo retaron a la vieja guardia hoffaista. “Luchabamos a favor de mas pagos de huelga para los trabajadores, menos salarios y privilegios para los funcionarios del sindicato, y en contra del racismo” dijo Tony Caldera, candidato de Liderato Nuevo para vicepresidente.

En la Convención, se nominóf a Tom Needham para presidente nacional del sindicato en la planilla Nacional de “Rank and File Power” (Poder a la Base). Los apoyadores de Hoffa intentaron callar a los reformistas, pero fracasaron. “Rank and File Power” luchó en contra de Hoffa por sus vinculaciones con el presidente George Bush. Tambien fueron los reformistas que obligaron al sindicato a que se expresara en contra del bombardeo de Vieques por la marina de guerra norteamericana.

Hoffa desde entonces ha mantenido su gran amor por Bush, apoyando el plan de sacar petroleo de la preserva nacional del Arctico en Alaska.

Todo el sindicato de Camioneros “Teamsters” se encuentra en movimiento. Como se vienen acercando las elecciones nacionales, estas cuestiones de vida o muerte han impulsado que muchos miembros reflejen sobre sobre la necesidad de cambios desde arriba y para abajo. William Jenkis, un trabajador en el hospital Rush-St Lukes, dijo “La planilla Liderato Nuevo se base en la clase trabajadora. Por eso es que apoyamos a Tom Leedham. Por eso es que nos comprometimos a transformar al movimiento obrero, no solo en el local 743, sino en todo el país”.

Christine Royster, de la Planilla Liderato Nuevo del local 743, fue nominada para vicepresidente nacional en la planilla de Tom Leedham de “Rank and File Power”. Si sale electa será la primera afroamerican en la junta ejecutiva de los “Teamsters'.

“Es un honor que me postularon para este puesto” dijo Royster. “A demasiados afroamericanos y latinos nos ignoran y nos tratan como miembros de clase segunda en el sindicato de Teamsters. La planilla de Tom Leedham “Rank and File Power” va a cambiar a todo eso”.

#ChicagoIL #News #Teamsters #ChristineRoyster #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #RichardBerg

Chicago, IL – They tried to steal the Teamsters Local 743 election and they were caught red handed. Bob Walston, Diane Strickland and the rest of the 743 old guard officers could not win an election on their own, so they resorted to cheating. The election race pitted the rank-and-file New Leadership Slate against the corrupt, mob-tied, old guard.

“Thieves steal, this is a fact of life,” said Richard Berg, the reform candidate for President on the 743 New Leadership Slate, “but the working members of Local 743 will not and cannot let these thieves steal our union from us. Local 743 is our union; it does not belong to the boss, or the mafia, but only to the workers. We will not allow justice, democracy or our dignity to be stolen. We will fight this until the end.”

Jimmy Hoffa, Jr., who heads the International Teamsters, backed the Walston slate and is known as a sell-out.

Robbery!

The stealing of the election was not particularly clever. They hired their own guy, James Dehann, to run the election. Instead of Dehann renting the post office boxes used in the election, he allowed Hoffa slate member Diane Strickland to do it. This gave her 24-hour access to members' ballots.

When 743 New Leadership Slate members surprised Dehann and Hoffa slate members by showing up in big numbers to observe each part of the process, they could not hide their theft. “We found that over 300 returned ballots had disappeared under their watch. Hundreds of extra printed ballots showed up out of nowhere,” said Richard Berg.

On the day of the count, Dehann needed to resort to extraordinary measures to prevent the 743 New Leadership Slate from taking office. For example, he would not allow anyone except himself to challenge questionable votes. The Walston-appointed election officer, in clear violation of the Teamsters constitution, threw out the standard practice of allowing all parties involved to challenge the ballots. When Richard Berg pointed out their misdeeds, Dehann threatened to have him arrested and thrown off union property.

This theft is one a series of thefts committed by the current officers. These same people drove the Local 743 Credit Union to bankruptcy after many questionable loans to their cronies. Under their watch, over $16 million disappeared from the Local 743 Health and Welfare Fund, leaving it insolvent, too.

“Everyone knows their game, they can no longer win a fair election,” said 743 New Leadership Slate member Edwin Soto, “that is why they must resort to these measures.”

Fight Continues

The 743 New Leadership Slate has vowed to fight this latest theft by the Hoffa slate to the end. The 743 New Leadership Slate has filed charges with the Teamsters Joint Council and is preparing to go to the Department of Labor and to the courts. “We know we won this election,” said Debra Simmons, candidate for Secretary Treasurer on the 743 New Leadership Slate, “we will not stop until these corrupt officials have been removed from Local 743.”

The real issue is representation. In all of the 175-plus shops where members of Local 743 work, a contract spells out everything from rates of pay to work rules to grievance procedures and more. “These people haven't negotiated a decent contract since they were appointed,” said Richard Berg, “the members of Local 743 know they are in bed with management and we are sick and tired of it. We won't rest until they are gone.”

During the campaign, the New Leadership Slate outlined a plan to stop the corruption in Local 743, make Local officers more accountable to the members and start spending dues money on the members – instead lining the pockets of a few Hoffa officers.

#ChicagoIL #News #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #BobWalston #electionFraud

Chicago, IL – On Oct. 30, 2001, the workers' movement lost a voice – and a camera – when William Jenkins died of heart failure.

Jenkins, as he was known and loved, was a member of the New Leadership Slate in Teamsters Local 743; a nationally known video professional; and a contributor and a top distributor of Fight Back! newspaper. He was a third shift worker at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, where he often would get out 200 or more copies of Fight Back! to his co-workers.

Richard Berg, New Leadership Slate presidential candidate, said, “His death is a great blow to the workers' movement.”

Jenkins was chairperson of the Committee for Labor Access, a Chicago-based non-profit which produces the Labor Beat cable TV show and Labor Express radio show.

An award named after Jenkins has been established by Freedom Road Socialist Organization in Chicago, to be presented annually at their Peoples Thanksgiving. The first award was presented to the New Leadership Slate.

Randy Evans, a worker at the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago, and a union steward in the Service Employees International Union Local 73, prepared a statement about Jenkins for the presentation of the award. “Jenkins was a quiet, unassuming, and decent man...father, friend, activist, videographer, comrade, and supporter of the movement for peace and justice – he did what he could to contribute to the advancement of the working class movement.”

#ChicagoIL #News #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #WilliamJenkins #CommitteeForLaborAccess

Chicago, IL – In a stunning upset, members of Teamsters Local 743 voted to send a rank and file slate of delegates to their convention; rejecting the slate dominated by officers, staff and stooges for International President Jimmy Hoffa Jr. The Teamsters International Convention sets policy for the union, and nominates candidates for International Union President and the Executive Board. Conventions are held only once every 5 years.

The Chicago Teamsters called themselves the 743 New Leadership Slate and ran against the sell-out leadership that called itself the Hoffa Take Back slate.

The current pro-Hoffa Local 743 executive board has gained a reputation for making deals with management, gutting union contracts, paying themselves big salaries with members' dues money and being buddies to current Teamsters International President Jimmy Hoffa Jr. Hoffa Jr. has done nothing for Local 743 members.

Bitter discontent among members has been growing for years, especially among Latino and African American members, who are the vast majority of the Local's membership. Members who don't speak English have been ignored and abused by both the employers and the union. In many shops, the only union presence has been the dues deducted from workers' paychecks. The need for a real union that fights for its members has been growing and is what propelled the New Leadership Slate to victory.

“We formed the New Leadership Slate because we knew only the members could turn this union around,” said University of Chicago Hospitals (U.C.H.) union steward Richard Berg, “and now we've proven that members can challenge the people in power and win.” Berg is one of the newly elected delegates.

U.C.H. tried to terminate Berg on bogus charges in the middle of the campaign. Immediate protests by fellow Teamsters got Berg his job back. It also made it clear to everyone that management and the corrupt union forces were working together.

The 743 New Leadership Slate delegation has 11 of the Local's 20 delegates and 13 of the 20 alternates. The delegation plans to go to the Teamsters convention and fight for the right of every member to elect their own union stewards, to allow all members to see accurate contract changes in writing before voting on them, and to limit the salaries of union officials. Local 743 President Chester Glanton pays himself $190,000 a year from members' dues money.

This fall, members of Local 743 will be voting again. There will be two important elections. They will be voting for who will control their Local Union and on who will control their International Union.

The 743 New Leadership Slate will be supporting the Tom Leedham Rank and File Power slate at the convention and again in the fall elections.

The Local 743 officers' election has the Labor movement in Chicago stirring. In Local 743, union members have shown they are capable of challenging these old-guard Teamsters. Rank and File control of this important 14,000 member local would be a victory for all workers.

#ChicagoIL #News #Teamsters #TomLeedham #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #UniversityOfChicagoHospitals

Chicago, IL – Sirlena Perry is a clerical worker and a trade unionist in Chicago. She has also been a supporter of the Teamsters 743 New Leadership Slate for many years. She gave a speech introducing members of the Slate when they were honored at this year’s People’s Thanksgiving in Chicago, an annual fundraiser for Fight Back! newspaper.

Perry stated, “30 years ago, I was a member of Local 743 at my first job at Aldens mail order company. I remember how proud I was to be part of that union. We had a good contract with decent wages. I remember especially Regina Polk. When Aldens went out of business, she made sure we received training, which is how I was able to get a job as a secretary at UIC.

“Local 743 also had a history of being involved in the civil rights movement. They were one of only two unions that sponsored Martin Luther King’s Freedom Summer in 1966. We were proud of Black union leaders like Bob Simpson and Chester Glanton.

“Sadly, later we saw them sell out their members, making sweetheart deals with companies and finally stealing elections. Then, as management got tougher in the 1980s, the union needed to mobilize its members to be able to stand up for them. Instead, they got in bed with management.

“The New Leadership Slate has brought together Black, Latino and white workers to fight for what we all need. I am honored to present them the William Jenkins award for Principled Commitment to the Cause of Trade Union Democracy.”

[William Jenkins was a member of the New Leadership Slate who died in 2001. He was also a Labor Beat reporter, film maker and a supporter of this newspaper.]

#ChicagoIL #News #AfricanAmerican #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #PeoplesThanksgiving #SirlenaPerry

Fight Back!: How did the struggle against the old guard begin in Local 743? When did you get involved?

Berg: I started as a custodian at the University of Chicago Hospitals in 1988. Marriott was an outside contractor that came in to try to whip us into line and increase the level of exploitation of the workers so they could make a little money for themselves and even more money for the university. I was a relatively new steward. We decided to get the workers together to fight back against it.

We had a meeting of second shift workers. We had keys to every office, so we put a flier on every desk, from the president of the university, the dean of the medical school to every secretary. The flier said, “To the University of Chicago. From: your workers. Fire Marriott!” It then listed our eight demands. We all wore buttons that said, “No Marriott.”

We sent a message to everyone at the hospital that we were going to fight, and that we weren’t going to tolerate this level of exploitation. It sent shockwaves through the place.

The next day, the management of Marriott, who had refused to even hear grievances from me in the past, called me in their office before I could even punch in and fired me. Then they went to each worker and asked them to take off the buttons. If he or she refused, they would suspend them for three days. As the word got out what was going on, all the workers came down and lined up to get suspended because they weren’t going to take their buttons off.

As they realized they didn’t have enough workers anymore, they started reducing them to one day suspensions. Then managers started turning their heads away to say, “I don’t see your button.” People would say, “See my button, see my button.” The vice-president of the university called all the workers into a big room and said, “You should all go back to work. We can figure this out.” The workers replied that they wouldn’t make any deals without their union steward. Management pointed to a steward from the kitchen, “Your steward is over there.” The steward responded, “I’m not their steward, you fired him.”

The fight was there, but this didn’t happen overnight. It was a planned action to hit back against what we were facing. The next day I got a call from the union, asking what the heck was going on. They did everything they could to put out all the fires and tried to make nice with management. But this is a fundamental contradiction – it’s not about making nice, it’s about fighting for dignity and respect. We organized the fighters among the workers and unleashed them. The union thought that any struggle was wrong. They saw their only role was to collaborate, to get on their knees and beg for a better situation for the workers. This has been the contradiction with them from that day until when we beat them in October, between those that want to fight management and those that want to collaborate and make deals.

Fight Back!: How did the workers at the University of Chicago Hospitals learn that the whole old leadership of Local 743 had to be opposed?

Berg: Initially we saw that our business agent was selling us out. Many people thought that we just had a bad business agent. In fact, he was a nice guy, he’d always return phone calls and do things like that, but he’d never stand up for the workers. Whenever there was a conflict between labor and management, he’d beg for you, and if that didn’t work, he’d sell you out.

Things began to change when the president of our local was removed because of his affiliation with organized crime. He let the old president of our local who had also been removed because of his affiliation with organized crime continue to run the union. Our local went into trusteeship and while we were in trusteeship, we met people from across the local. We were able to compare notes with workers from other hospitals, from nursing homes and manufacturing. We found out who was actually in our union for the first time, because they kept us all separate. As we compared stories, we realized it was the same story at every place. That was the beginning of what became the 743 New Leadership Slate.

We decided from those first meetings to support each other. If there was a battle across town, we’d go there and try to help them organize it. [After the trusteeship ended, the old gang managed to return to power.] When Montgomery Ward’s shut down, we organized huge rallies to support the workers. We called on the local union to bring in people from the international to help. The local union wanted to just let the place shut down and the workers go on. So we picketed the union hall and demanded that the union do something to fight for these workers.

Fight Back!: How did you build the New Leadership Slate and root it among workers in the local?

Berg: The best example is Tony Caldera, who has been one of the leaders of the slate since the beginning. He still teases me to this day because when I first met him, I didn’t want him on the slate, because I didn’t know him very well. That was the biggest mistake I ever made. He has been one of the best fighters from the start until today.

He always looked out for all the workers. When the battle happened at Silver Capital three years ago, he was out front. [Silver Capital was a factory with mostly undocumented, Mexican immigrant workers. It closed in 2004 and Local 743 sold out the workers, refusing to fight for severance pay.] He convinced Marcela Garcia, the leader of the workers there, to run on our slate against Jose Galvan, the business agent who had threatened to call immigration when the undocumented workers complained about being sold out. Tony and Marcela galvanized our slate and Silver Capital became the example for all the immigrant workers in 743. When Tony told their story to workers across our local, it rang true. It was their story as well.

Unfortunately, Tony’s factory, Frederick Cooper, had the same fate, closing in the summer of 2005. He led the struggle of the workers there as well. Under his leadership, those workers have won hundreds of thousands of dollars from the owners of Frederick Cooper, after the union had agreed to let them go with absolutely nothing at all. Tony did this by uniting with community organizations and pressuring the alderman around zoning issues.

Fight Back!: Now that you’ve won the election, what conclusions have you reached about how the old guard managed to stay in power so long?

Berg: Collaborators rely on management to stay in office. They had their dirty tricks and their willingness to break the law and our union’s bylaws and constitution. Of course, they always had plenty of money and resources, while we had to rely on fundraisers, a few dollars from every worker and volunteers. The ultimate thing, though, was that management supported them.

I was fired three times at the University of Chicago. Not once did it have to do with my work. I was a very good worker; I always have been. It was because I threatened management that they would fire me on trumped up charges.

During this recent election, I was kicked out of every workplace in the local, not allowed to speak to workers about how to make our union better. At the same time, every employer would invite the old guard in, often on company time, to talk to workers about why they should vote for them. Is this against the law? Of course it is. These laws aren’t enforced because the people who make and enforce the laws are the same people who own our companies – the factories, nursing homes and hospitals in Local 743.

Fight Back!: What’s the new day going to be like for the workers in Local 743?

Berg: The New Leadership Slate is going to take all the resources of this union and put them to work to serve the people. The workers should expect to have business agents out at the job sites on a regular basis and to have their phone calls answered. Dues money will go toward contract enforcement, toward getting workers dignity and respect and aiding in the fight we have been talking about in this interview.

#ChicagoIL #Interview #Interviews #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #RichardBerg

Chicago, IL – A cheer rang out Oct. 22 as the U.S. Department of Labor announced the winners of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) officers’ election for Local 743. Richard Berg and the 743 New Leadership Slate beat the incumbent Ford-Galvan Unity Slate. After twelve years of difficult and sometimes frustrating campaigning, a new day is dawning in Local 743.

Since its founding, Local 743 has seen a tremendous amount of mob-related corruption. Don Peters ruled the union without any elections until he was banned in 1987. Robert Simpson was appointed his replacement and served as president until he too was banned in 1995. The 743 New Leadership Slate was formed so that the members could fight back against this corruption and collaboration with the bosses.

After the 743 New Leadership Slate won the October 2004 election, the incumbent officials called a ‘do-over’ election in December. Former 743 old-guard president Richard Lopez, along with Mark Jones, Cassandra Mosely and David Rodriques are now being charged with embezzlement for diverting ballots to friends and family members who were not eligible to vote, in order to steal the do-over election from the New Leadership Slate three years ago. It looks like more indictments may be yet to come. This election has removed these corrupt officials from power and given the members and their slate control of the union.

Union members and volunteers have worked around the clock, visiting work sites and talking to workers. President-elect Richard Berg said, “We waged this campaign by gathering together workers who wanted to fight, who wanted to take back the union to fight the boss. The members of 743 built this campaign because we could no longer stand aside while this do-nothing, company union continued to dig us into a hole.”

With the supervision of the Department of Labor in conducting this election, the incumbent officials weren’t able to cheat quite as much this time around. There were reports of underhanded dealings, however. New Leadership Slate trustee Joe Sexauer said, “Union workers at a nursing home reported that the Ford-Galvan Slate and their supporters were asking members to turn their ballots into them, saying they would, ‘take care of them.’ We know this wasn’t the only place this happened.” Despite all of this the New Leadership Slate was able to mobilize the voices of the members and win the election.

The newly elected officers will take office in January. Richard Berg said, “We need to make this union work for the members. For too long this union has worked for the companies and the mob. We need more stewards and we need more steward elections. We need to train better business agents and we need to educate the membership as to their rights.”

Larry Davis, vice-president-elect, said, “We are going to make 743 into a union the members can be proud of, a fighting union that is looking out for them. The members’ victory today was only the first step. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but we are up to the challenge.”

#ChicagoIL #Chicago #News #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #electionFraud

On the heels of Walston’s resignation, Lopez has just been indicted for stealing the last election. Three other former business agents were also charged with conspiracy to commit fraud. It is very likely that they will face jail time for their crimes. It is also quite possible that other corrupt officials will follow them.

Cleaning up the Corruption in Teamsters 743

This is good news for members of Teamsters Local 743, which has a sordid history of mob related corruption. Don Peters, who had ruled the local without holding any elections for 40 years was banned for corruption in 1987. Robert Simpson was appointed his replacement and served as president of the local until he was also banned in 1995. The 743 New Leadership Slate was formed to fight back against this corruption and to stand up for the true interests of members.

Now all of their crimes and collaboration are catching up with them. In 2004, with the 743 New Leadership Slate winning the election, Walston used his powers as Local 743 president to call a ‘do-over’ election. Now Lopez and others are being charged with fraudulently diverting ballots from union members to friends and family who were

not eligible to vote. They are also charged with stealing the ballots and embezzlement. They stole the do-over elections and they got caught.

Teamsters Local 743 is home to about 13,000 members, many of whom have worked for years for low wages and little or no benefits. This is due to the collaboration of these corrupt union officials with the bosses. Since the era of Don Peters, IBT 743 has operated as a company union at the expense of many of its members, selling them out on behalf of the factories, warehouses, health care facilities and other companies.

743 New Leadership Slate – Fighting for the Members

New elections are under way in IBT 743, with ballots due in to be counted on Oct. 22. Due to all of the shady dealings of the last elections, the Department of Labor is stepping in to run the election. The 743 New Leadership Slate is in the running against the ‘Ford-Galvan Unity Slate.’ Jose Galvan served as vice-president under former president Robert Walston. Reginald Ford served as trustee.

Richard Berg, presidential candidate for the 743 New Leadership Slate, says, “The Ford-Galvan gang have been nothing but a ball and chain for working people in the union They’ve negotiated give-backs and sweetheart contracts for employers. Now we have a solid chance to get rid of these crooks and take back our union. We will then be able to build Local 743 into a real union that represents its members.”

The 743 New Leadership Slate is gearing up for an aggressive campaign to take back the union from the clutches of the bosses and their collaborators. The corrupt officials are now set up for a big fall. New Leadership Slate organizers are working day and night, going to workplaces and talking to workers, building their campaign to make sure that members come out of this election with a fighting union.

#ChicagoIL #News #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #RobWalston #electionFraud

“You bet they voted,” said Larry Jones a certified nurses aid at Frankfort Terrace Nursing Home, “Our boss knows sellout union officials when he sees them; that’s why the union sent them the ballots in the first place.” To compound their crime, when they were caught, they destroyed the evidence.

Federal law requires unions to keep election records for one year after the election, but according to what Local 743 submitted to the judge, “Thaddeus Bania, controller of Local 743, shredded the eligibility list used during the December 2004 election.”

Why did Local 743 finally admit their crimes? To avoid further embarrassment and harsher punishment. Local 743 President Walston and his executive board, including Reggie Ford and Richard Lopez, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Local 743 treasury to delay a trial that would prove their guilt. When Judge Kennelly set a trial date for August 27, 2007, the Local went running to the U.S. Department of Labor looking for a settlement.

The Department of Labor insisted that Local 743 admit guilt in misdirecting ballots in the 2004 election. Because they stole the election from Local 743 members and the 743 New Leadership Slate (NLS), the Department of Labor will nullify the 2004 election and supervise a new election this fall.

The local union has long been viewed as corrupt both by its own members and Teamster observers. “It is a shame that they have gotten away with this for so long,” said Adrian Esqivel, a clerical worker at the University of Chicago, “We get paid too little and have to pay too much for health insurance because we have a company union that is in bed with the university.”

The real winner of the 2004 election probably should have been the 743 New Leadership Slate. After having the election stolen from them, they went back to the rank and file. “Where we could, we helped other members of Local 743 file grievances and fight for a better contracts,” said 743 NLS presidential candidate Richard Berg.

Berg said that these efforts were often blocked by union officials. When workers at the University of Chicago drafted 743 New Leadership Slate supporter Joe Sexauer to run for union steward, the union ignored their request for an election, in violation of Local 743 bylaws. “They would rather have no union steward, no representation at all for the workers than someone from the 743 NLS,” said Sexauer, who has filed internal charges against Local 743 President Walston and business agent Thor Hester.

“The workers in this union know what is going on, they know it is time for a change,” said Richard Berg, “That is why we are going to get rid of these corrupt union officers once and for all. We are going to make this a real union, a union where workers are proud to be Teamsters again.”

#ChicagoIL #News #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #electionFraud

He spent large sums of money to try to prevent reformer Tom Leedham from being nominated to run against him. This plan failed. Instead of a coronation there will be an election. Leedham has announced that he has enough delegates to nominate him at the Teamster convention at the end of June. With mainly rank-and-file volunteers, Leedham won delegates in the majority races that he contested.

“The workers are sick of Hoffa’s broken promises and lies,” said Chicago Local 705 delegate Craig Karnia, “I work at UPS and I know that PR alone won’t do the trick. If we are going to take on UPS, we need a strong rank-and-file movement. We need to elect Tom Leedham.”

Some Leedham delegate candidates were not successful. In Chicago’s Local 743 Leedham delegates lost a close race amidst widespread irregularities. “This election was a joke,” said 743 New Leadership Slate candidate Richard Berg, “The officials lie, they cheat and they steal, and we still fought them to a tie or at least close to a tie.”

A lawsuit has been brought against Local 743 by the U.S. Department of Labor for stealing the last Local 743 officers’ election. “This suit is still in federal court,” said Richard Berg, “yet these criminals are still able to run the delegate election.” Local 743 failed to send over 15% of the members a ballot. Charges have been filed by the 743 New Leadership Slate.

“These little tricks won’t work,” said Berg, “the workers want change. They are going to vote for Tom Leedham and his entire slate because they are sick of ‘let’s make a deal.’ They want a union that will fight for them. Leedham understands this.”

Tom Leedham and his slate will face off against Jimmy Hoffa this fall. The 743 New Leadership Slate lawsuit is likely to be resolved some time before the end of the year. Besides campaigning for Leedham, 743 New Leadership Slate members are trying to raise money to cover their legal fees.

If you would like to help the 743 New Leadership Slate you can contribute to their legal defense fund by going to their website www.743newleadership.org. Or make a check out to the Chicago Labor Support Committee and send it to PO Box 805104, Chicago, IL 60680.

#UnitedStates #News #Teamsters #TomLeedham #NewLeadershipSlate #JimmyHoffa

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.”

The reform group held the press conference to announce that it is suing Local 743 officers on behalf of the 13,000 members of Local 743. Berg said, “Local 743 President Robert Walston and the rest of the board have spent many thousands of dollars of our money to cover up their wrongdoings. We demand that they pay back this money to Local 743 members, resign their positions and let the rightful winners take office.”

The New Leadership Slate obtained documents from the U.S. Department of Labor that detail how the executive board of Teamsters Local 743 misdirected many hundreds of ballots in bundles to friends, loyal stewards and even the infamous Russian Turkish Bathhouse. These ballots were used to provide the margin of victory in the most recent Local 743 officers’ election.

The Russian Turkish Bathhouse was cited by the Chicago Tribune and Teamsters anti-organized crime chief Edward Steir as mob owned. The Tribune cited it as the secret meeting place of Local 743 president Robert Walston and banned former president Robert Simpson

In an attempt to cover up their wrongdoing, the heads of Local 743 destroyed election documents that the law requires saving for a period of no less than one year. Since stealing the election, Local 743 Secretary Treasurer Diane Strickland has resigned. “And the rest are in trouble,” said NLS supporter Debra Simmons, “Reggie Ford and Bob Walston’s days are numbered.”

The 743 New Leadership Slate is represented by attorney Thomas Geoghegan. The NLS is utilizing its rights under the provisions of Title V of the Labor Management Reporting Act to recover union monies Robert Walston, Reggie Ford and others agents of Local 743 used to defend their theft of ballots.

The New Leadership Slate is also running a slate of delegate candidates to represent Local 743 with honest leaders at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters convention. They support Tom Leedham for president of the International Brotherhood Teamsters.

#ChicagoIL #News #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #RichardBerg #electionFraud

A suit was filed by the Department of Labor on Aug. 12. It charges Local 743 president Walston and the other officers of Local 743 with election fraud and other illegal violations. The complaint in federal court states they, “denied members the right to vote when Defendant mailed members’ ballots to incorrect addresses, the ballots were marked by individuals other than the designated recipients, and the ballots were returned and counted in the election tally.”

In plain language, Walston’s gang stole ballots from working Teamsters. Then they cast these ballots for themselves. They have done this for several consecutive elections. “We know this because we have caught them – several times!” said executive board candidate Esmeralda Cuevas of 743 NLS. “Finally the government is doing something about it.”

On Oct. 16, 2004, ballots were being counted by Walston and his executive board. Despite their rigging of the election, Richard Berg, leader of the 743 NLS was ahead in the count. Walston stopped counting the votes with just the challenged ballots remaining. The gangsters then cooked up an excuse to conduct a second election.

Hoffa Backs Up the Gangsters

743 NLS challenged their crime, but Teamsters International President James Hoffa’s refused to stop Walston. After that, 743 NLS asked the Labor Department to take the case.

“Hoffa is a joke,” said 743 NLS Secretary Treasurer candidate Tony Caldera. “He looked the other way while his good buddy Walston stole the election from 12,000 workers in Local 743.”

Hoffa will be running for reelection next year. “Hoffa shouldn’t expect to get any votes from Local 743,” said Caldera. “He had his chance. His name doesn’t have any influence here. Hoffa and Walston just take our dues money and make deals with the boss. We need a change.”

743 New Leadership Slate: The Rightful Winners

The Department of Labor suit calls for a new election that they would be run by the DOL, instead of officers of the local.

743 NLS presidential candidate Richard Berg said, “It is time for the rightful winners of the election to take office and it is time for those who stole the election to be prosecuted.

Berg went on to outline a plan to revive the local. “We need to create industrial standards in healthcare, in education, for clerical workers as well as for factory workers. We need to let the companies know that if they try to make us pay too much for health insurance, if they try to pay us too little, if they mess with any of our benefits or if they disrespect us in any way, then they will have a real fight on their hands. Being a Teamster has to mean something again.”

#ChicagoIL #News #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #RobWalston #electionFraud #stolenBallots

Chicago, IL – The company and the union officials agreed: The workers would get nothing. These workers that had made the company owners rich by making lamps to be sold to wealthy people around the world, these workers, would now get nothing. The company was being sold and their jobs would be eliminated. Most had worked in this factory for more than 25 years and now they would get nothing.

The owners of the Frederick Cooper Lamp Company had sold the company name. They had sold the factory building to a developer who intended to turn the property into luxury condominiums. While this would make millions and millions of dollars for the owners, it would leave more than 100 workers without a job. The plan was to take the money and run. Give the workers nothing.

The owners thought that they had it made. The officials of Teamsters Local 743, which represents the Frederick Cooper workers, had agreed to the deal. “Whether they are stupid, corrupt or some combination, we are not sure, but the effect was the same, we were being sold out by the union,” said 21-year employee Esmeralda Cuevas, “and we were not going to take it.”

The workers voted down the closing agreement. Not once but twice. The union told them if they did not accept it they would lose all their vacation time and the annual bonus that had been negotiated five years earlier. Despite this, the workers said “No!” in overwhelming numbers. As he was leaving the factory after the vote, Local 743 business agent Jimmy Burns said, “Dumb Mexicans, now you will lose everything.”

This insult from the their union official outraged the workers. Many of the workers were immigrants from Mexico, as well as Poland and many other countries. Many were born in Chicago or somewhere else in the United States. But they all understood that they would have to stick together in solidarity if they were to make any gains.

A meeting was organized by the 743 New Leadership Slate (743 NLS). Frederick Cooper workers Tony Caldera and Esmeralda Cuevas had run for union office on the 743 NLS ticket and had the respect of all the workers. The 743 NLS helped the workers organize a list of demands and reach out to allies in the community.

The workers found out that the community did not want the factory to shut down either. They appreciated the union jobs in the area and did not want high-price condominiums to change their working-class neighborhood. The workers at the Cooper and Logan Square Neighborhood Association, along with community leaders, religious leaders and others formed the Cooper Task Force. The goal was to fight for a good severance package for the workers as well as to keep the land zoned for manufacturing where Frederick Cooper is located. The community wanted to keep living wage jobs in their neighborhood.

First Ward Alderman Manny Flores was asked to support the demands. At a ward meeting called by the alderman and again at a Cooper Task Force speakout, hundreds united to support the demands of the community as well as a call for a decent severance agreement. The alderman spoke in favor of the demands that the workers and community put forward.

The workers, led by the 743 NLS, decided to call for an informational picket one day after the first shift. The hope was to pressure the company before its big lamp sale. The alderman and the community showed up to voice their support, but the real story was the solidarity of the workers. Chants in Polish, English and Spanish showed everyone that these workers could not be divided. Many had never been on a picket line before, but their voices became stronger and stronger as they grew more confident. Because of the wide press coverage the union heads finally felt compelled to do something.

Local 743 executive board member Reginald Ford told the workers that if they did not have a good agreement by the time of the company lamp sale that they would go on strike. The workers were cautious of his words because they had been sold out by these officials so many times.

After Ford’s announcement the union disappeared. With a possible strike looming, the workers started to organize themselves. Where would the pickets be put up? How could we have the biggest impact on the lamp sale? Who would contact the press? They would need to translate everything into several languages. How would this be done? Who would get the materials to make the signs?

The company got the message that the workers were serious and planned to frustrate the lamp sale. The owners, afraid of losing their own ‘severance,’ finally made an offer. The alderman and Ford emerged to present the offer just before the workers had said that they would strike. The offer included $2000 for each worker, their vacation, profit sharing and two months of health insurance paid for by the company. Also, when the parking lots around the factory were sold, the workers would get a portion of the money from the sale.

“When you fight, you can win,” said Tony Caldera, “our union leaders think too much like the bosses. We need to change our union so that they fight for the workers instead of always making deals. Our labor made millions of dollars for the owners of Frederick Cooper, yet we had to fight all out against the company and the union to get any severance at all.”

#ChicagoIL #ImmigrantRights #News #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #TonyCaldera #CooperLamp

Berg recently ran for president of the local union on the 743 New Leadership Slate, challenging the current officers. These old guard officials had become known for selling out to University of Chicago management. First, Local 743 officials and the University of Chicago Hospitals management colluded to try to prevent Berg from running, by kicking him out of the union. They brought him up on bogus internal union charges, but were foiled by the 743 New Leadership Slate (743NLS) legal team.

When this didn’t work, their efforts became more obvious. Old guard officials issued ballot box keys to themselves and stole hundreds of votes. This however was not enough because the workers voted against the old guard in such large numbers that Berg and the

743NLS won the election by a margin larger than what the old guard was able to steal.

Then, in true old-time Teamster mafia fashion, they canceled the election they had lost and held a new election. In this election they eliminated all safeguards and made sure they stole enough votes to ‘beat’ the 743 New Leadership Slate reformers.

But then the Local 743 sellouts and the University of Chicago Hospitals did something even more shameful. They colluded to have Richard Berg fired from his job of 16 years at the University of Chicago Hospitals. “UCH management and Local 743 are always making deals behind our back and Richard calls them on it,” said environmental service worker Chantell Harlin, “That’s why they wanted to get rid of him.”

Berg was starting to become a national figure in the Teamsters. Together with Tony Caldera, secretary treasurer of the 743NLS, he led a delegation to the last International Teamster Convention. There Berg and other reformers spoke out against General President Jimmy Hoffa’s dues increase. “We opposed their fat salaries and believe me, they didn’t like it,” said 743NLS delegate Esmerelda Cuevas.

Berg has been an active player in the national teamster reform movement headed by Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU). TDU supported reform candidate Tom Leedham in his bid to unseat Hoffa in the last Teamster national election. Because of his leadership role, Teamsters from around the country elected Berg to TDU’s leading body, their International Steering Committee.

“They don’t want Richard to run against them anymore because they know that they can never beat us unless they cheat,” said Tony Caldera, “and lately they have been getting caught cheating a lot.” Caldera’s comments are borne out by the fact that the Department of Labor has subpoenaed all the documents from the most recent elections that the old guard Local 743 officials stole. The Department of Labor investigation could still lead to Berg taking office.

The picket line in front of the University of Chicago administration building wasn’t just about Richard Berg. The university had disrespected their students, their workers and the surrounding Black community. These movements were starting to come together. “When they attack Brother Berg they attack all union workers,” said Randy Evans, a member of SEIU Local 73. “He understands the need to fight for workers’ rights, not just to accept the cuts management keeps demanding.”

“When the students organized against the war, Richard and the 743NLS were there. When the community organized against the University’s gentrification efforts, when SEIU Local 73 or the Nurses union were fighting for a better contract, Richard and the 743 NLS were there. Now we need to be there for them,” said recent U of C graduate and community activist Matt Ginsberg-Jaeckle.

“The great abolitionist Frederick Douglas taught us that power concedes nothing without a demand,” said Berg. “We are even stronger when we make our demands together.”

Berg gave special praise to the Students Organized and United with Labor (SOUL). He noted that the students uniting with university workers especially disturbed management.

To support Richard Berg, you can sign the online petition at www.743newleadership.org. The 743 New Leadership Slate will post other calls for support at that site.

Contributions to Berg’s legal defense can be sent to Chicago Labor Support Committee, P.O. Box 805104, Chicago, IL  60680.

#ChicagoIL #News #SEIULocal73 #Teamsters #TeamstersLocal743 #NewLeadershipSlate #RichardBerg

Sisters and Brothers,

Yesterday, I received a termination letter in the mail from the University of Chicago Hospitals (UCH). As many of you know UCH and Teamsters Local 743 have been trying to get rid of me for some time.

For those of you who don't know me, I was the reform presidential candidate in our recently concluded union elections. I ran on the 743 New Leadership Slate. The 743 New Leadership Slate is committed to kicking organized crime out of Local 743 and out of the Teamsters.  We have opposed the deal making between these mobster and all employers, including the University of Chicago Hospitals.

We have fought for better wages, benefits and rights for all working people. There is no doubt that this is why the University of Chicago Hospitals terminated me after 16 years of employment.

I want to thank everyone who signed our online petition at www.743newleadership.org and encourage everyone else to please go to the above address and sign it. Also, we are having a picket line in front of the Administration Building:

Time: 12:00 Noon

Place: Administration Building (Where the Credit Union is located.)   5801 S. Ellis

Date: Tuesday, January 11, 2004

I hope to see you all there. Thank you for your support. Please forward this to any friends of the Teamster Reform Movement, and any friends of justice in the rank-and-file labor movement in general.

In Solidarity and Struggle,

Richard Berg

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