Teamsters for a Democratic Union

Last updated
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
FoundedJune 5, 1976
HeadquartersDetroit,MI
Location
  • United States/Canada
Key people
Ken Paff
AffiliationsTeamster Reformers
Website www.tdu.org

Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) is a grassroots rank and file organization whose goal is to reform the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or Teamsters Union. The organization has chapters nationwide in the United States and Canada.

Contents

History

TDU was started in Cleveland, Ohio, in the 1970s, as an alliance of socialists who had taken Teamster jobs and a layer of militant truck drivers who had been organizing against contract concessions, [1] after the federal government exposed extensive corruption in the union, which included leadership raiding union-held pension funds, collusion with organized crime, and collusive collective bargaining between union officials and employers at the expense of union members. [2]

TDU Influential Activists

Endorsements

In November 2019, TDU members voted to endorse the Teamsters United O'Brien/Zuckerman slate for International President and Secretary/Treasurer. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Brotherhood of Teamsters</span> North American trade union

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of the Team Drivers International Union and the Teamsters National Union, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue- and white-collar workers in both the public and private sectors, totalling about 1.3 million members in 2015. The union was formerly called the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James P. Hoffa</span> American labor union leader (born 1941)

James Phillip Hoffa, also known as James Hoffa Jr., is an American labor leader and attorney who was the tenth General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He is the son of Jimmy Hoffa. Hoffa was first elected in 1998, and re-elected in 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016 to five-year terms. In 2018, Hoffa was elected chair of the Road Transport Section of the International Transport Workers' Federation at its quadrennial Congress in Singapore. Hoffa is the second-longest serving General President of the Teamsters Union, after Dan Tobin, who served from 1907 to 1952. Hoffa's final term as General President ended in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solidarity (United States)</span> U. S. socialist organization

Solidarity is a revolutionary multi-tendency socialist organization in the United States, associated with the journal Against the Current. Solidarity is an organizational descendant of the International Socialists, a Third Camp Marxist organization which argued that the Soviet Union was not a "degenerated workers' state" but rather "bureaucratic collectivism," a new and especially repressive class society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie Presser</span> American labor leader (1926–1988)

Jackie Presser was an American labor leader and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1983 until his death in 1988. He was closely connected to organized crime, and allegedly became president of the Teamsters based on the approval and support of the Cleveland Mafia. From 1972 until his death, he was also an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation concerning Mafia influence in the Teamsters union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minneapolis general strike of 1934</span> 1934 labor strike and protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

The Minneapolis general strike of 1934 grew out of a strike by Teamsters against most of the trucking companies operating in Minneapolis, the major distribution center for the Upper Midwest. The strike began on May 16, 1934 in the Market District. The worst single day was Friday, July 20, called "Bloody Friday", when police shot at strikers in a downtown truck battle, killing two and injuring 67. Ensuing violence lasted periodically throughout the summer. The strike was formally ended on August 22.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teamsters Canada</span> Canadian trade union

Teamsters Canada is the Canadian wing of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Although the Teamsters have been present in Canada since 1903, Teamsters Canada was only established in 1976. The organization represents 125,000 workers in all industries. It is the largest transportation union in the country, and the largest private sector union under federal jurisdiction.

Labor Notes is an American non-profit organization and network for rank-and-file union members and grassroots labor activists. Though officially titled the Labor Education and Research Project, the project is best known by the title of its monthly magazine. The magazine reports news and analysis about labor activity or problems facing the labor movement. In its pages it advocates for a revitalization of the labor movement through Social Movement Unionism and union democracy. Labor Notes is based out of Detroit, Michigan, with an East Coast office located in Brooklyn, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Paff</span>

Kenneth T. Paff is one of the founders and current National Organizer of Teamsters for a Democratic Union, a rank-and-file union democracy movement organizing to reform the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or Teamsters.

SEIU Member Activists for Reform Today (SMART) is a national organization of rank-and-file union members working for the democratic reform of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). SEIU primarily represents workers in the public sector, healthcare industry, and property services. Today it is America's largest and fastest growing union with 2 million members, many of whom are minorities, immigrants, and women.

Daniel H. La Botz is an American labor union activist, academic, journalist, and author. He was a co-founder of Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) and has written extensively on worker rights in the United States and Mexico. He is a member of the socialist organization Solidarity, which describes itself as "a democratic, revolutionary socialist, feminist, anti-racist organization," which comes out of the Trotskyist tradition. La Botz ran in 2010 for a seat in the United States Senate for the Socialist Party. He is also a member of the Brooklyn branch of the Democratic Socialists of America and a co-editor of the socialist journal New Politics.

Workers Power was a short lived Trotskyist faction in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes</span> Trade union

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes (BMWE) – later to become the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (BMWED) – is a national union representing the workers who build and maintain the tracks, bridges, buildings and other structures on the railroads of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida</span>

The 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida were held on Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to elect the 27 U.S. representatives from the state of Florida, one from each of the state's 27 congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including Governor of Florida. There was no net party change, as Democrat Gwen Graham defeated Republican incumbent Steve Southerland in the 2nd district, while Republican Carlos Curbelo defeated Democratic incumbent Joe Garcia in the 26th district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Socialists (United States)</span> Political party

The International Socialists (1968–1986) was a Third Camp Trotskyist group in the United States.

The United Parcel Service strike of 1997, led by International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) President Ron Carey, started on August 4, 1997, and involved over 185,000 Teamsters. The strike effectively shut down United Parcel Service (UPS) operations for 15 days and costs UPS hundreds of millions of dollars. The strike was a victory for the union, resulting in a new contract that increased their wages, secured their existing benefits and gave increased job security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Camarata</span> American activist (1946–2014)

Pete Camarata was a Teamster labor activist and one of the founders of Teamsters for a Democratic Union a rank-and-file union democracy movement organizing to reform the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or Teamsters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean O'Brien (labor leader)</span> American labor union leader (born 1971/1972)

Sean M. O'Brien is an American labor leader who is the General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He formerly served as the Vice President Eastern Region of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT).

The 2021 leadership election for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters occurred after the General President James P. Hoffa announced his retirement. Ballots were mailed to eligible members of the North American union on October 4, 2021, and counting of the ballots began on November 15, 2021. On November 19, 2021, Sean O'Brien of the Teamsters United slate was declared the winner.

The 1985–1987 Watsonville Cannery strike was a labor strike that involved over 1,000 workers at two food processing facilities in Watsonville, California, United States. The facilities were owned by Watsonville Canning and Richard A. Shaw Inc., two of the largest frozen food processors in the United States, while the workers were all union members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Local 912. The strike began on September 9, 1985, and completely ended about 18 months later, on March 11, 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Association for Union Democracy</span> American labor organization

The Association for Union Democracy (AUD) is a non-profit organization based in Brooklyn, New York, which advocates for union democracy. Founded in 1969 by union reformer Herman Benson and Yale law professor Clyde Summers, the AUD has been called "labor's leading voice on democracy issues" by Labor Studies Journal.

References

  1. "Teamsters for a Democratic Union". Democratic Socialists of America. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  2. Marvit, Moshe. "A Lesson on How to Unite Across Race and Class From… the Teamsters". The Nation. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  3. Martin, Douglas. "Pete Camarata, Who Fought Fellow Teamsters for Reforms, Dies at 67". The New York Times . Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  4. Levin, David. "The Teamster Revolt Against the Hoffa Era". Jacobin Magazine. Retrieved 16 January 2020.

Further reading