Posts tagged James Hoffa
Trump courts union vote as Teamsters hold off from backing Harris
August 19, 2024 // But an internal poll conducted before Biden withdrew found that its members were closely split, with 37 per cent supporting Trump, compared to roughly 45 per cent for the current president, according to a person familiar with the polling. One forklift driver in Michigan, who asked that his name be withheld because he feared retaliation for speaking without authorisation, said that he and other Trump-supporting Teamsters believed the former president would help all workers by strengthening the economy and the job market.
How the Mafia Infiltrated American Labor Unions
August 12, 2024 // While law enforcement agencies continue to monitor Mafia infiltration of labor unions, labor racketeering has become less prevalent than it was decades ago. In part, that’s because union membership plummeted after the McClellan Committee exposed the extent of labor racketeering. At its zenith in the mid-1950s, union membership comprised one-third of the labor force, but now union members only represent approximately 10 percent of American workers.
Some of the 18 Teamster officials in the Western region charged by the Teamster Independent Investigations Officer (IIO) in May and July of 2023 have been suspended from office or resigned their positions, while others await the decision of Judge Barbara Jones. Judge Jones serves as the Teamster Independent Review Officer (IRO) and makes the final decisions on corruption charges filed by the IIO.
February 22, 2024 // Three officials who ran on the Vairma-Herrera Slate in the 2021 International Union election are among the charged officers. They are all charged for their role in aiding disgraced former IBT Vice President Rome Aloise to direct union business after he was suspended from the union for corruption and taking gifts from a major employer during bargaining.
As Boston’s own Sean O’Brien matches UPS at the bargaining table, Amazon could be next
June 26, 2023 // But O’Brien said he’d support pulling the trigger — putting the International’s $300 million-plus “strike defense fund” to use — if he doesn’t see adequate financial gains for his membership. For him, this battle over the largest private-sector union contract in the United States isn’t only about righting the wrongs baked into the union’s current agreement with UPS. It’s meant to show how organized labor can flex its muscle against giant companies. And it’s a prelude for a long-awaited showdown with decidedly anti-union Amazon, where the Teamsters hope to organize the online retail giant’s massive logistics workforce. “All eyes are upon what the Teamsters do in these negotiations,” O’Brien said in an interview. “It’s going to be the defining moment in the labor movement. It’s going to be a template on how we take on Corporate America, how we take on big business.” Dissatisfaction with the current UPS contract, signed in 2018, helped O’Brien win his race to lead the Teamsters two years ago. Then the head of the Teamsters Local 25 in Charlestown, O’Brien broke away from the previous International leadership, led by James Hoffa, because of disagreements over the last round of UPS negotiations.
This new union boss could start the biggest strike in decades
March 24, 2022 // O'Brien, a self-described "militant," is vowing to take a much harsher line with employers than his predecessor did. And that could lead to a strike at the nation's largest union employer when the Teamsters' UPS (UPS) contract expires on July 31 2023.