Teamster Reformers Prepare To Challenge Hoffa in 2006

Teamster reformers are putting up a slate of candidates that has a shot at throwing out incumbent International officials and transforming their union. The Strong Contracts, Good Pensions slate is headed by Tom Leedham, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 206 in Oregon and a two-time contender for president.

With Teamsters’ discontent over pensions, contracts, and workplace issues reaching a boiling point, Leedham’s slate may be able to overcome the advantages of the political machine that President James P. Hoffa has created since he was elected in 1998.

LOUISVILLE SWEEP

One sign of this discontent came in late October in the first major election of delegates to the next Teamsters convention. In Louisville, Kentucky, all 27 members of the opposition Rank and File United slate were elected as delegates for Local 89.

With 14,000 members, Local 89 is one of the largest in the union. A Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) statement called the Louisville sweep “the New Hampshire Primary” of the 2006 election.

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Momentum is building, but the campaign faces big hurdles. The first bar it must clear falls on December 9, the deadline for candidates to be accredited for the 2006 election. To be accredited, candidates must collect 50,000 signatures. Accredited candidates are given space in the Teamster magazine and on the International’s website, and they are granted access to membership lists.

At the November 5 TDU Convention in St. Louis, Leedham told the wildly cheering crowd that a successful run couldn’t be built by one man, but had to be built with a hard organizing effort by rank-and-file Teamsters.

A victory for the Strong Contracts, Good Pensions slate—in a union with 1.2 million members—would not only shake up the IBT but could also have an energizing effect on declining U.S. unions beset by widespread concessions, layoffs, and the public perception of weakness.

Leedham predicted, “A revived Teamsters union will be the motor that will help drive a revitalized U.S. labor movement.”

More information: Tom Leedham: Strong Contracts, Good Pensions Slate.