“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

After watching the national contract be imposed, with major concessions, Local 705 found itself in a difficult position. Teamsters President James Hoffa, for political reasons, was determined to not allow Local 705 to negotiate a better contract than the U.S. national agreement.

Facing a battle with Hoffa and UPS, who were willing to fight at any cost for concessions, Local 705 was able to wait out negotiations until the busy season for UPS, when a strike would hurt the most, hoping to win gains where the national agreement fell short. As UPS dragged its heels, Local 705 revoked their contract extension so it would end just after ‘Cyber Monday.’

Local 705 was able to win major pension increases, $15 an hour for existing part-time workers, stiffer penalties for supervisors working and harassing, and more full time jobs, among dozens of other improvements, all by raising the threat of a strike and tough negotiating.

A major point of contention with the national language was a proposal to hire in 25% of all new drivers under a two-tier wage scale with less benefits and protections. While Hoffa collaborated with UPS management to get that proposal through at the national level, ultimately approving a contract through that was voted down by 54%, Local 705 Secretary Treasurer Juan Campos led a campaign to keep that contract language out of Chicago.

As Hoffa and UPS made it clear to Local 705 that Chicago would be forced to accept the two-tier drivers, Campos strategically bargained in work rules to the language that protects the original package car driver job and enhances benefits to new two-tier workers, making it the best language in the country and difficult for UPS to implement.

Teamsters are currently debating the gains and shortcomings on the internet, in the workplace, and at after-work hangouts. What is clear is that Teamsters everywhere need to come together in 2021 to kick out Hoffa and his lackeys in order to launch a national contract campaign and get ready for a strike in 2023, because UPS made it quite clear that’s what it will take to save better-paying jobs and improve life for part-timers.

In the meantime, Local 705 members will have the best UPS contract in the country because they showed what a strike threat and tough bargaining can accomplish. Local 705 members will live to fight another day and are ready to take on Hoffa and join a national movement to lift part-timers out of poverty and strike out two-tier wages for good.

#ChicagoIL #PeoplesStruggles #Teamsters #UPS #TeamstersLocal705