Teamster convention opens in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nev. – Teamster President James P. Hoffa has decided to spend millions of dollars in union members’ dues money to showcase himself at the International convention which opened June 27 in Las Vegas. Hoffa demands that delegates wear red vests to show loyalty to his presidency as he seeks another five-year term in office.
“I’m not wearing a red vest,” said Teamsters Local 705 member Benjamin Cline. Cline is a United Parcel Service (UPS) warehouse worker in Chicago. “Hoffa likes to project a spectacle of ‘Teamster Power’ when in reality he has delivered concessionary giveback contracts, more corruption and suppression of the voice of rank and file Teamsters.”
Cline belongs to a coalition of courageous workers and officials from around the county who chose the Black vest of reformer Fred Zuckerman from the Teamsters United slate. Zuckerman, along with a full slate of candidates, plans to be nominated and to run against Hoffa and his cronies. Louisville Local 89 President Fred Zuckerman led the fight against the sellout agreement negotiated by James Hoffa and his Secretary Treasurer Ken Hall with the United Parcel Service.
“I have been working for UPS for ten years. That is long enough to see that with Hoffa we keep going backward,” said Cline, “Teamsters United represents workers willing to fight back. I like to think that I am one of those guys.”
Hoffa is a spin doctor. The millions spent at the convention is meant to convey power in the face of huge losses for the union. There will be no real debate or discussion about the problems facing the American working class, but plenty of free drinks for those wearing red vests.
Fight Back! will be covering the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Convention this week live from Las Vegas, Nevada.