Teamster Voice #295, spring 2016

8/18/2019 Teamster Voice #295, spring 2016

1/12

TEAMSTER SPEAKING OUTSTRONGER UNIONFORMERLY CONVOY DISPATCH

TM

Teamsters for a Democratic Union

(313) 842-2600 www.TDU.org

Spring 2016 Issue #295

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VOICE

“TDU has been with us every step of the way in the

fight to defend our pensions. And it didn’t just start

last year, they’ve been doing this work for decades.

$25 a year for retired Teamsters and spouses is a

small price to pay to have them in our corner. Iencourage folks to join and help sustain the fight.”

Mark Dray, Local 638

UPS Retiree, Minneapolis

While Teamster members fight

concessions and pension cuts, theHoffa administration is rocked byyet another corruption scandal.

Four hundred thousand Teamsters

in 25 states are being threatened with

pension cuts.

Over 9,000 Teamsters are gearing

up for a potential strike at United

Airlines.

Teamster Organizers are trying to

make headway at FedEx Freight.

And Hoffa and Ken Hall? They’re battling yet another corruption scandal

and circling the wagons around Vice

President Rome Aloise who is charged

with taking gifts from employers while

he gave them concessions.

Aloise is likely to be banned from

the Teamsters by the union’s new disci-

plinary officer. But Hoffa stands by his

man. It’s no accident.

Our special report reveals Hoffa’s

own ties with the shady characters in

the Aloise scandal, the long history of

Hoffa administration corruption, andwhy Hoffa will never kick the corrup-

tion habit.

Teamster members depend on

focused leadership and public support

to beat concessions and pension cuts

and to win organizing drives.

There’s a straight line from corrup-

tion to concessions and declining union

power—and for 17 years it’s run right

through the Hoffa administration.

Interview: Fred Zuckerman

Fires Back

Teamster Voice sits down with theTeamsters United candidate for General President—and he pulls nopunches. Page 3

Pension Crisis: It’s About

More than Central States

What caused the pension cut crisis andwhat will it take to save the retirementdreams of 400,000 Teamsters and mil-lions of Americans? Pages 10-11

SPECIAL REPORT:Why Hoffa Can’tKick the CorruptionHabit– Page 5-7.

CORRUPTION AGAIN?

Hoffa and Ken Hall are standing by Vice President

Rome Aloise, who is charged with racketering.


2/12

2 — TEAMSTER VOICE SPRING 2016

LETTERS

Teamsters for a Democratic Union is a grassrootsorganization of thousands of members across NorthAmerica, working together to rebuild Teamster Power.

We’re truck drivers, dock workers, warehouse

workers, clericals—every kind of Teamster, and retirees

and spouses, too.

We fight for good contracts and oppose concessions

and benefit cuts.

We bring Teamsters together to enforce our rights

and to hold union officials accountable to the members.

TDU is run by Teamsters for Teamsters. Our leadership body, the International Steering Committee, is elected

each year at our TDU Convention.

Not controlled by any official and answerable only

to the rank and file, we are an independent voice for

working Teamsters.

For more than 30 years, TDU has been uniting

Teamsters to put our union to work for the members.

Find out what we’ve won and where we stand.

If you believe in rebuilding Teamster Power by

getting members informed and involved, then Teamsters

for a Democratic Union may just be the group for you.

TEAMSTERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC UNION:WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE’VE WON, WHERE WE STAND

Where’s Our Share of YRC Profits?

Dear Teamster Voice:

YRC Teamsters were supposed to get profit-sharing if we made 97 % operating ratio. YRC just reported 98%,

so we don’t get a dime. Nonunion Reddaway employees

do get one. They can afford a CEO making over 10 mil-

lion a year and cameras going in tractors.

I call on Hoffa and Tyson Johnson to get into this and

stop any further nonsense.

Alex Aguilar, YRC, Local 104, Arizona

Aloise Must Give Up Multiple Pensions


If Rome Aloise is found guilty of this corruption, no

way should he be able to collect those multiple pensions

and $1 million lump sum from our Teamster treasury.

I’m sick and tired of these Teamster brothers going up

the ranks to local and international Teamster officials and

becoming crooks. Not all of them, but it happens way

more than it should.Joe Hoyt, Local 299, Detroit

Pension Movement Needs to Grow


Our fight to defend our pensions has grown by leaps

and bounds over the past year. We've ignited a grassroots

campaign that needs to spread to other unions as well as

the millions who face potential cuts to social security. Our

efforts have planted the seeds for what needs to be a mas-

sive movement to defend retirement security.

Bob McNattin, Local 120, Minneapolis,

Cemstone Retiree

CONTACT TDUP.O. Box 10128, Detroit, Mich., 48210.

Phone: (313) 842-2600 - Fax: (313) 842-0227

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.tdu.org

NY Office: 104 Montgomery St.,

Brooklyn, N.Y. 11225.

Phone: (718) 287-3283 - Fax: (718) 287-3287

TDU INTERNATIONALSTEERINGCOMMITTEE

Co-Chairs:Dan Campbell, Milwaukee Local 200Michael Savwoir, Kansas City Local 41Mark Timlin, New Jersey Local 177Julian Tysh, New York Local 814

Organizer:Ken Paff, Detroit

Trustees:Gina Alvarez, Chicago Local 743Willie Hardy, Memphis Local 667Nick Perry, Columbus Local 413

Members:Dave Bernt, Chicago Local 705Kioma Forero, New York Local 804

Frank Halstead, Los Angeles Local 572Tim Hill, Spokane Local 690Stephen Mohan, New York Local 553Stefan Ostrach, Oregon Local 206Brooke Reeves, Rhode Island Local 251“Kas” Schwerdtfeger, Milwaukee Local 344Leonard Stoehr, Oregon Local 206

Alternates:Charlie Jordan, New York Local 804Dustin Ponder, New York Local 804Joan-Elaine Miller, Philadelphia Local 623Copyright © 2016 by Teamsters for a Democratic Union.

Contents may be reprinted by labor unions or rank and

file organizations for use in the promotion of union

democracy. Employers and all others may not use these

materials without the specific, written permission of

Teamsters for a Democratic Union. If material is used, its

source, TDU Teamster Voice, must be cited.

A New Direction for Our UnionTDU helped vote the old

guard out of office in 1991

and started to put our union

on the right track.

Under new leadership our

union reversed a 16-year

decline in membership.

Mobilized members won the

1997 UPS strike—labor’s biggest victory in decades.

Fighting CorruptionTDU takes on Teamster

officials who abuse members’

trust by using our union to

advance themselves, not

the membership.

We oppose excessive salaries

and multiple salaries for

Teamster officials which

waste millions we could be spending to win strong

contracts and organize new members.

Protecting Our BenefitsTDU mobilized members to

win 25-and-out pensions

and record pension increases

in the 1990s. Now we’re

fighting to protect those

benefits from pension cuts.

Uniting Teamsters to protect

our benefits and healthcare—

and win quality benefits for all Teamsters—is a top

priority of TDU.

Education for Union PowerInformation is power.

TDU sponsors educational

workshops to train Teamsters

how to overcome apathy,

involve members, enforce

their rights and develop as

union leaders.

A Teamster Civics Lesson


Our eleven year old granddaughter, Isabella, joined my wife Barb

and me for a trip to the Senate Finance committee hearing on

MPRA. Isabella is keenly aware of the impact the proposed Central

States pension cuts will have on her grandparents and thousands of

other middle class families. Her favorite class in school is Social

Studies and she got a great lesson in civics when it came to hearing

Rita Lewis speak out in support of working and retired Teamsters.

I encourage other Teamsters to reach out to their families and

involve them in our campaign to find meaningful solutions to protect

our retirement security and all of our family's futures.

Whitlow Wyatt, CF Retiree, Local 413, Columbus


3/12

TEAMSTER VOICE SPRING 2016 —

Teamster Voice: Why are you running for

Teamster General President?

Fred Zuckerman: Because I couldn’t stand it

anymore. That’s the truth.

Every day, Teamsters are paying the price because

Hoffa and Hall refuse to stand up to the employers

and refuse to stand up for the members.

Real wages are going down. Part-time throw-

away jobs are going up. Hundreds of thousands of Teamsters face the threat of living out their retire-

ment years in poverty because of pension cuts.

Corporate greed is out of control and we need to

get off our heels. Contract negotiations with UPS

were a chance to draw a line in the sand—and win.

Instead Hoffa gave concessions to a company that

was making $4.5 billion in profits. The other

employers stepped up and said, ‘We want some of that too.’

In national contracts covering 300,000 workers,

Hoffa and Hall gave healthcare cuts, wage cuts, pen-

sion cuts, concessions. It didn’t have to be this way.

Members were ready to fight concessions. They

voted No across the country. In my local, they Voted

No by 94 percent.Teamsters unite when there’s leadership and a

plan to win. Hoffa and Hall have shown they won’t

lead. They need to get out of the way for Teamsters

who will.

TV: Hoffa’s defenders would say the problem is

the employers and you’re blaming Hoffa for

problems that aren’t his fault.

FZ: Of course, it all starts with the employers. But

surrender isn’t a strategy.

A union is about standing up and fighting back—

but you’ve got to do it smart and have a plan to win.

Let me give you an example. Across the country, wehave a major problem with grocery employers using

subcontractors to leverage concessions. They hand

over the trucking and warehousing operations to an

outfit like C&S—and then the subcontractor says,

“We need concessions or we’re going to move, or

we’re going to lose the work.” This has been going

on for years and Hoffa has no strategy for it.

Kroger tried to pull this crap in Louisville. We

refused to negotiate concessions. The subcontractors

said, “Then we’re keeping the workforce but we’re

going nonunion.” We geared up to strike for union

recognition and they brought in replacement work-

ers from all over the country and put them up in

hotels. We weren’t about to walk into that ambush;

instead we set one of our own. We waited for theKentucky Derby when every hotel room in

Louisville is sold out for two weeks. Sure enough,

the hotels kicked the replacements to the curb and

they flew back home. Then we struck their ass. We

won a contract that has better healthcare, retiree

healthcare and stronger job security.

By the way, Hoffa told other Teamsters to stay out

of our fight. When you don’t know how to take on

employers, you don’t like people who do.

TV: You mentioned pension cuts. This is a huge

crisis….

FZ: More than 400,000 Teamsters and retirees

have gotten a letter saying their pension will be cut

in half—or worse. I’m one of them.

Hoffa has done everything wrong. For 17 yearsthey did nothing to bring employers into the funds.

Worse, they let big employers abandon Teamster

pensions and start their own company retirement

plans: UPS, Waste Management, now they’re trying

it with Kroger. The members at these companies got

substandard retirement benefits and the Teamsters

who stayed in Central States were abandoned to a

declining fund.

Then Hoffa teamed up with employers and joined

the group that drafted the pension cut legislation

that’s allowed the plan to slash our pensions. It’s

criminal and we’d be fools to trust the people who

created this problem to fix it.

This is another case where the rank-and-file have

shown twice the backbone of the International.

Teamsters and retirees and these pension commit-

tees have done a tremendous job—educating, organ-

izing, getting in the media, building political sup-

port. They deserve a lot more than the lip service

and photo ops they’re getting from the IBT. In the

short term, we need an all-out mobilization to pass

the Keep Our Pension Protections Act. Looking

ahead, it’s about contract campaigns to protect our

pensions at negotiations and making strategic long-

term commitment to organizing the nonunion com-

petition and bringing employers into our pension

funds.

TV: You’ve made a point of talking very directly

about corruption. Why?

FZ: Because there’s a direct line from corruption to

concessions and benefit cuts.

The vast majority of officers are hard-working,

honest people who are doing the best they can for

the members. When we talk about corruption,

you’re talking about the clique that’s around Hoffa.

This Rome Aloise scandal makes me sick. Here’s

a guy who was taking gifts from employers and ask-

ing them for favors while he was in negotiations

with them. The same executives who gave him thegifts told him what a great job he did twisting the

arms of local officers to settle short in contract nego-

tiations. You sell out the members and walk away

with tickets to a Playboy Super Bowl party for

Hoffa’s chief of staff.

This is how Hoffa and his boys roll. Hoffa is golf-

ing buddies with the investment firm owner that

Aloise negotiated a sham contract with. They go to

Europe together to golf. It’s all there in the report. It

will turn your stomach.

Look, there’s corruption in every organization.

The question is what do you do when it’s uncov-

ered? Hoffa will never act on corruption. First,

because that’s how he rolls himself. And second, he

will never punish the power brokers that deliver thevotes that keep him in office—no matter how cor-

rupt they are. He has only ever acted when the

Independent Review Board has forced his hand.

TV: You’ve been a harsh critic of TDU in the

past. Now you’re running with TDU’s support.

The Hoffa Campaign says you’ve flip-flopped.

FZ: Well, TDU’s been tough on me too through the

years. Maybe you’re the flip-floppers (laughs).

I’m not a TDU member, never have been. But I’ll

say this—TDU exposes and condemns corruption

within the IBT. Hoffa covers it up. That’s why the

members don't trust him. When you cover up cor-

ruption and sell out the members, it makes organiz-

ing almost impossible. Anti-union employers have a

field day against us in organizing campaigns.On the big issues in our union, from concessions

to pension cuts to corruption, TDU members have

taken up the good fight. We’ve built a coalition and

that’s the right thing to do.

I’m sick of the phony accusations from the Hoffa

crowd about us dividing the union. Hoffa sides with

the employers. That’s what divides our union. We’re

uniting Teamsters to take on the employers. That’s

what Teamsters United is all about.

Fred Zuckerman Fires Back“A union is about standingup and fighting back—but

you’ve got to do it smartand have a plan to win.”

Teamster Voice interviews the straight-shooting candidate forTeamster General President.


4/12


Hoffa AdministrationHides from Carhaulers!It has been nearly six months since carhaulers rejected the conces-

sionary deal offered up by the Carhaul Division, with 85% saying

“hell no.” Since then, Carhaul Division directors Kevin Moore and

Roy Gross seem to be “ghost employees” who draw a salary but

don’t do anything. Are they hoping the members will tire of the wait

and vote for concessions? Carhaul Teamsters are too united to let that

happen!

“The automotive Industry is hav-

ing record sales and record profits.

And the carriers are cashing in.

We need a fair share of the pros- perity too—improved contract lan-

guage, benefits and wages. Our

85% rejection showed solid

unity—now we need a leadership

that’s ready to help us win what’s

ours.”

James Stricker, Cassens

Local 299, Detroit

In February the mechanics sent a

unified message to the corporation

with a 93% strike vote, after thecompany tried to sell the deal. The

union has asked the National

Mediation Board for a release to

move toward a strike, as required by

the Railway Labor Act.

It’s going to be a hot summer for

United Airlines, if management

refuses to bargain seriously. Their

bogus “final offer” contained two-

tier wages, health care cuts, and

inadequate job protection from sub-

contracting—as United makes

record profits.

The mechanics have rallied inmultiple cities with the support of

United’s flight attendants, pilots

and community leaders. Solidarity

is strong from the bargaining com-

mittee and the ranks, including for-

mer Continental and United work-

ers.

A victory for United’s mechanics

is a victory for all airline workers

and all Teamsters.

United Airlines Mechanics Contract Rally9000 Teamster mechanics at United Airlines have voted toauthorize a strike if necessary to stop concessions and winan industry-leading contract.

Non-union independent subcontractors line thedock at the UPS Freight terminal in SouthHolland, Illinois waiting for freight.Local 710 Teamsters sit at home without work,waiting to be dispatched.It’s a familiar scene to UPS Freight Teamsterswho have been sold out by Hoffa-Hall.

“We have seen every single well-

documented subcontracting

grievance lose at the regional andnational panels. Road drivers sit

at home while subcontractors

pull our loads...and Hoffa and

Hall fiddle while Rome burns

down around our ears.”

George Stokes, Local 81, Portland, Ore.

“When I got a job at UPS Freight,

I thought I hit the lottery. Now as

they constantly use contractors,I’m sitting home wondering how

to pay the bills. We desperately

need a new Teamster leadership

to help us take on the bully on

the playground—UPS Freight

management—and give us a fair fight.”

Brandon Curcio, Local 509, Gaffney, S.C.

No Answer from Hoffa-Hall onUPS Freight Subcontracting


5/12


Why Hoffa Can’t Kick Corruption Habit

On February 10, International Vice President Rome

Aloise—Hoffa’s chief operative in the West—was hitwith 122 pages of corruption charges by the

Independent Review Board, involving almost every

conceivable labor crime, including:

racketeering

requesting things of value from employers duringnegotiations

taking employers’ gifts, including admissions toPlayboy’s Super Bowl Party for Hoffa’s Executive

assistant and his friends

trying to leverage jobs for his relatives fromemployers, including UPS, Costco and others dur-

ing labor negotiations

negotiating a sham collective bargaining agreement

using union resources to punish political opponentsand prevent a fair Teamster election

Hoffa has not stepped away from Aloise—quite theopposite. Aloise remains on the Hoffa-Hall slate and

his facebook page brags that Hoffa-Hall have his back.

Employer pay-offs? Denying members’ rights with

threats? Sham contracts? Hoffa says “No problem!”

In fact, Hoffa has his own close ties with each of the

shady characters at the center of the Aloise corruption

charges.

Aloise’s fate will be decided by the Independent

Review Officer, former US Attorney General Benjamin

Civiletti. The charges against him are exhaustively doc-

umented. Aloise will almost surely be barred from the

Teamsters Union.1

Rome Didn’t Fall in a DayThe IRB notes that Aloise has a documented history

over many years of illegally denying members’ rights.

He was caught threatening to hurt a Teamster strike

against Safeway because the local president was

running for IBT office;2

He was caught and fined $5000 for threatening a

member who wanted to run for delegate in Aloise’s

local;3

He was fined and assessed $29,561 for using union

dues for his campaign and then lying to the Election

Officer to cover it up.4

Why Hoffa Can’t Kickthe Corruption Habit

Hoffa came into office 17 years ago promising to

run a clean, democratic union. But time and again,

Hoffa has covered for corruption in his own ranks. TheAloise scandal is only the latest example. (See Hoffa

Can’t Kick the Corruption Habit, pages 6-7).

When he was first elected, Hoffa hired an anti-cor-

ruption czar: Edwin Stier, a respected former federal

prosecutor.

But when Stier’s inquiries into corruption and

organized crime influence got too close to Hoffa’s top

ally in Chicago, John Coli, Hoffa shut down the

investigation.

Stier resigned in disgust, writing that when it comes

to cleaning up corruption: “The problem is Hoffa.”

When members won the right to elect our

International Union leaders for the first time in 1991,

they elected a reformer who challenged the union’s

power structure.

Teamster power brokers chose Hoffa, a lawyer with

the most famous last name in labor, as their front man

to take the International Union back.Hoffa is beholden to that devil’s pact two decades

later. Hoffa will never act against corruption when it

implicates one of the power brokers that keeps him in

office. And that’s why Hoffa can never kick the

corruption habit.

1Independent Review Board report of Charges on Rome

Aloise, February 10, 2016.22000 EAD 57 December 6, 2000, Office of Election

Supervisor 32011 ESD 286 June 28. 2011, Office of Election

Supervisor 42006 ESD 341 August 23, 2006, Office of Election

Supervisor

Western Region power broker Rome Aloise has been hit with corruptioncharges that even Hoffa and Hall cannot protect him from.

Charged with racketeering, taking employer gifts and

other corruption violations, Aloise brags about Hoffa-

Hall’s continued support.

Hoffa-Aloise Corruption ConnectionHoffa’s top power broker in the West, Rome Aloise, has been charged with serial corruption violations,involving a shady cast of characters—each one with their own ties to Hoffa.

Investment firm owner Charles Bertucio

is an employer pal and golfing buddy.

In 2013, Hoffa joined Bertucio on a

golf trip to Scotland along with Aloise

and Hoffa campaign operative Richard

Leebove. In 2014 the same gang went to

Ireland for a golf junket, joined by

International Trustee and Carhaul Director Kevin Moore.

Aloise was caught signing a sham

contract with Charles Bertucio,

the owner of an investment firm.

The phony contract provided

Teamster benefits to Bertucio, a

golfing buddy of Hoffa and Aloise.

Hoffa’s Executive Assistant Willie Smith was given six

tickets to an exclusive Playboy Club Superbowl Party in New Orleans. The gift from corporate executives to a

labor official violated federal law. An executive from

SWS, an employer of 2000 Teamsters, wrote to Aloise

that he was “happy to pay” for “Hoffa’s key guy.”

Aloise faces charges for soliciting the illegal gifts from

SWS executives—along with other employers. SWS bosses praised Aloise for pressuring Teamster Local 792

to go easy on the company in contract negotiations. The

members’ loss was Willie’s Smith’s gain.

Richard Leebove is a high-paid consultant to the IBT and a

Hoffa campaign operative specializing in attacking union

reformers. Leebove was caught shaking down employers

for illegal contributions to the Hoffa Campaign—and making

illegal contributions of his own to the tune of $167,675. He

was banned from one International election and suspended

from another for violations. After each scandal, Hoffa has

put Leebove back on the IBT gravy train.

When members ran for office against a friend of Aloise in

Stockton Local 601, Aloise hired Hoffa’ hatchet man

Leebove to run an attack campaign to discredit the

members. Investigators have now charged Aloise with

using employer and union resources to illegally finance

his dirty campaign against the rank and file.

The Golfing Buddy

Illegal Employer Gifts

The Hatchet Man


6/12

Cashing In While Central

States Pensions BurnedBill Lichtenwald’s close friendship withHoffa has paid off—literally. Lichtenwald collected multiple union salaries, pensions as a localofficer, the President of the Ohio Conference of Teamsters and a trustee of the Central States PensionPlan. Last September a 59-page IRB report exposedthat the Ohio Conference exists for the purpose of paying extra salaries. Lichtenwald has resigned from the Central StatesPension Fund under pressure from the US Department of Labor. To date,Hoffa has made no move to abolish the Ohio Conference.3

Corruption Cover-UpJohn Coli, a Hoffa-Hall Vice President and head of Chicago Joint Council 25, inherited the leadership of Local 727 in 1992 after his father stepped down and

his brother was removed by the IRB. Coli’s father was amember of the mafia, according to Edwin Stier the former

federal prosecutor Hoffa hired as an anti-corruption czar. Stier resigned after Coli used his influence with Hoffa to shut down Stier’s investigationsinto organized crime influence in the Chicago Teamsters. Stier wrote to theIBT General Counsel that “efforts to shut down our investigation were theresult of pressure from Chicago-area Teamsters who in turn were acting atthe instigation of racketeers.”4 Hoffa shut down the investigation. Coli joinedthe Hoffa-Hall state, and has become a top Hoffa advisor.

Family BusinessThe Teamsters Union has been a lucrative family businessfor the Coli family. Together, Coli, his son, and hisbrother make over $859,000 a

year from our union. A fourthColi, Joseph, was hired to be the

exclusive provider of legal servicesby the Local 727 Legal Assistance Plan.

The baby-faced Coli was two months out of law schoolat the time of his hire and was paid $2 million in hisfirst 14 months on the job—nearly twice as much asthe previous firm charged.5


Bribes & PayoffsThe Hoffa campaign, along with Ken Hall, Rome Aloise

and Tyson Johnson, were found guilty by the ElectionSupervisor of attempting

to bribe Teamster leaders out of running against them in the lastelection by offering them lucrativepositions on the International Unionpayroll. To their credit, FredZuckerman, Henry Perry and FrankGallegos turned down the bribes.2

Hoffa Can’tthe Corrup

Corruption Czar:

“The Pro blem is Hof f a” Former federal prosecutor Ed Stier was

hired

b y Hof f a in 1999 to direct the Pro ject Rise

anti-corruption task f orce. Stier resigned in

disgust f ive years later, sa ying when it comes to

rooting out corruption:“The pro blem is Hof f a.”1

Hof fa and Ed Stier

Hoffa Corruption Slate

John Coli

Hoffa and Lichtenwald

1

2

3

4Coli’s Kid


7/12

The Tough GuyInternational Vice president Sean O’Brien was suspended fromunion office for illegal threats—including vowing to “punish” any member who runs for local union office against his friends.6

Rhode Island Local 251 members defied the threats and elected reformleaders anyway. Hoffa kept O’Brien on the Hoffa-Hall slate and gave him a

promotion—putting O’Brien in charge of negotiating the supplements to theUPS national contract in 2013. When members rejected 18 of them, O’Brienand Ken Hall launched a nationwide campaign to sell the concessions. UPSTeamsters in three of thesupplements refused to cave in.The Hoffa administration ratifiedthem anyway and imposed theconcessions—even though themembers had Voted No three times!O’Brien’s tough guy routine isreserved for the members;employers get a pass.

TEAMSTER VOICE SPRING 2016 — 7

1. April 21, 2004 resignation letter of Edwin Stier. Also see “Teamster Crime Watchdog Quits; Hints Union is Corrupt”, Oakland Press, May1 2004.2.2011 ESD 73, January 20, 2011.3. Independent Review Board report on the Ohio Conference of Teamsters, September 25, 2015.4. Ed Stier, Report on Organized Crime Influence in the Teamsters ,May 2004.

5. “Family Biz Pays Off for Joseph Coli” Sun-Times, September 5,20156. Independent Review Board report on Charge Against InternationalVP Sean O’Brien, October 17, 2013.7. “YRC refinances $1.15 billion by closing on two 5-year loans”, DCVelocity Feb. 14, 2014. See also SEC filing by YRC, Feb. 7, 2014.8. Independent Review Board report on Charges against John Perryand JoJo Burhoe, September 29, 2010

9. Indictment of John Perry and JoJo Burhoe, September 13, 2012and “Two former Boston Teamsters are Sentenced in ExtortionCase”, April 20, 201510. Independent Review Board Decision barring Billy Hogan andDane Passo, May 20, 2002 and decision of Judge Loretta Preska, August 22, 2003.

All documents available at www.TDU.org

CHECK THE FACTS

Kicktion Habit5

Hoffa’s Concessions TycoonOver 25,000 freight Teamsters at

YRC suffered wage and pensioncuts since 2009, but their loss

delivered big gains for one Hoffaappointee. Harry Wilson, a hedge fund tycoonappointed by Hoffa to the YRCW board, waspaid a $5 mill ion bonus when employeesapproved the concessions and a bank dealwas consummated. YRCW paid Wilson$125,000 a month retainer and a $1.5 million bonus for his work on the company’srestructuring and concessions package—plusa $175,000 a year salary as Hoffa’s appointee

to YRCW’s board. The $5 mill ion concessionbonus was icing on the cake.7

Violence & ExtortionWhen Boston Local 82members organized to

unseat Hoffa’s NationalTrade Show Division Director

John Perry in his home local,Perry brought in professional muscle. Hisenforcer Joseph “Jo Jo” Burhoe smashed the face of one opposition supporter with a brick and unleashed a reign of terror on members who repeatedly wroteto Hoffa to ask for protection fromblacklisting, threats and violence.8

After Perry sent a letter to a Local 82 member threatening him withbeing “put in a trunk of a car, having your ribs broken and being hospitalized” Hoffa sent a letter back saying: “The International Uniondoes not have agents in the Boston area to provide protection to you or your family and does not have the capacity to investigate all of your numerouscomplaints.” In fact, Hoffa did have agents in the area: namely John Perry,the official behind the violence, and International Union Vice President JohnMurphy who’s pictured here with Burhoe. Perry would still be in office—theHoffa administration held a hearing and found him innocent. The IRBbanned him from the Teamsters in 2011 and Perry was sentenced tofederal prison for racketeering. Burhoe got a five-year sentence for hiscrimes, including extortion.9

Sweetheart DealsHoffa’s original running

mate Bill Hogan, Jr. wasbanned from our union

by the IRB after he was caughtengineering a sweetheart deal witha nonunion temp agency to undercutTeamster convention workers. The

scheme would have slashed wagesto $8 and eliminated all benefits.10

6

7

8Harry Wilson

John Murphy and JoJo Burhoe

Hoffa and Bill Hogan, Jr.

Sean O’brien


8/12


UPS Eyes Pension Cuts & Pension Fund PulloutsThousands of UPS Teamsters and retirees are

being threatened with massive pension cuts under

a new pension law.

Much of the attention has been on the Central

States where over 400,000 Teamsters and retirees

will lose half or more of their monthly pension—

including 8,737 UPS retirees.But the threat to UPS pensions goes beyond

Central States.

Thirty-five thousand Teamsters and retirees in

New York State were put on notice in February

that their pensions will be cut, including UPSers

in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and

across Upstate New York.

You can bet UPS will be looking for opportuni-

ties to turn the pension crisis to their advantage.

UPS has made a priority of cutting costs by

reducing its liabilities for our retirement securi-

ty—from our pensions to retiree healthcare.

UPS has made no secret of its desire to get out

of Teamster pension plans as part of that strategy.

The company already pulled out of Central

States—effectively sinking the fund. Fifty thou-

sand Teamsters are now covered by a company

plan and have the lowest pension benefits of any

UPS Teamsters in the country.

Brown also pulled out of the New England

Teamsters & Trucking Industry Pension Fund in

2012, by going into a “hybrid” arm of the New

England Fund at a lower rate with a 10-year

freeze on benefits.

Like most corporations, UPS’s ultimate goal is

to eliminate union pensions altogether and replace

them with 401ks.

UPS signed a letter-of-agreement that it would

not move to withdraw from Teamster plans. But

that agreement expires in 2018 when the next

contract is negotiated.

Corporate America is coming after pensions.

UPS Teamsters need to watch their wallets.

Need New Leaders to Negotiate Next Contract“UPS came after our benefits and retiree healthcare in the last contract and Hoffa-Hall failed

the test. If we want our pensions to be there when we retire, we need to make sure our nextcontract is negotiated by leaders that will stand up to UPS.”

Joan-Elaine Miller, Local 623, Package Driver

The attack on UPS Teamster pensions goes beyond Central States.

UPS’s Facebook Faceplant

When UPS claimed the right to

discipline Teamsters based on an ille-

gal “Social Media Guidelines”,

Hoffa-Hall gave management a pass.But Teamster action by a local union

has forced UPS to make a U-turn.

As Facebook and Twitter took off,

UPS issued employee “Social Media

Guidelines” governing everything

from online chat rooms and forums to

blogs, and Facebook.

Management warned that

“Activities that violate the standards

outlined in these guidelines can lead

to disciplinary action, including job

termination.”

TDU pointed out that, “Brown’s

guidelines banned virtually any

online speech on union or workplaceissues and clearly violate the

National Labor Relations Act.”

The International Union had the

right to bargain with UPS over the

policy. But they never did. And sure

enough, the company took advan-

tage. Management disciplined mem-

bers in multiple local unions for vio-

lating its social media guidelines.

Rhode Island Local 251 stepped

up. When the company cited viola-

tions of its social media guidelines to

justify disciplinary action, the local

filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge.

Brown backed down. The compa-ny was forced to post a notice that

members’ labor rights would be

respected and that UPS would

rescind Social Media Guidelines that

“improperly restrict employees’ pro-

tected right to discuss wage, hours

and working conditions with others.”

UPS has now issued new guide-

lines, including deleting language

that allowed the company to disci-

pline workers for criticizing man-

agers or supervisors by banning

“offensive posts that could harm

someone’s reputation.”

The stand made by Local 251strengthens the protections of all UPS

Teamsters. But that doesn’t mean

members can post anything they want

about UPS without consequences.

You can be legally disciplined in

some cases for what you post, even if

it’s on your own time and on your

personal Facebook page.

What are your rights? What are the

limits? And what are some do’s and

don’ts?

Protected PostsUnder federal law, you can use

social media to criticize your

employer, management or working

conditions as long as you are engaged

in “protected, concerted activity.”

Concerted activity happens when:1) employees discuss wages, hours,

or working conditions or union or

TDU activity together, or; 2) one or

more employees voice concern on an

issue that impacts other co-workers

(safety, for example) or 3) one or

more employees discuss lawful union

activity.

In short, if you are discussing your

working conditions with coworkers,

you have legal protections. But this

does not mean that “anything goes”.

Posts that May

Cross the LineHere are some missteps that couldstill get you in trouble.

If you are posting comments about

your employer that could be consid-

ered “egregious” or “disloyal” or if

you’re posting work-related photos

that have nothing to do with the

union, the contract, TDU or improv-

ing wages and working conditions,

then you may not be protected.

Extreme personal attacks against

bosses or co-workers may not be pro-

tected. The legal test is whether your

post is so “egregious” that it makes

your continued employment unten-

able. Posting racist or sexist com-

ments about co-workers or manage-

ment is not protected. Neither are

violent threats.

Criticizing your employer’s prod-

uct, service or customers may not be

protected. The issue here is “disloyal-

ty” particularly if your comments

could hurt the company’s business

and are not made as part of a labor

dispute.

Posting photos from when you’re

on the job may or may not be protect-

ed. It’s one thing to post a photo of an

unsafe working condition. It’s anoth-

er to post a photo from the job that

could hurt the employer's business or

image.

Think Before You PostUse common sense. Don’t post

when you’re on the clock, unless you

are clearly on break. If you would

have to deny saying it if you were

confronted by management, then you

shouldn’t say it online.

Use social media to build Teamster

unity and solidarity. Share informa-

tion and have a laugh. But think

before you post.

Brown is forced to revise its illegal Social Media Policy.


9/12


Building the Teamsters United CampaignTeamsters will vote for new International Union leadership this fall. Get involved in the Teamsters Unitedcampaign to elect General President Fred Zuckerman and the Teamsters United slate.

Gate with aCandidate to Spreadthe Word“We brought Fred Zuckerman

to Cincinnati and took him to

Teamster barns to meet mem-

bers. Everyone who stopped to

greet and talk to Fred walked

away feeling better about being a Teamster. When a candidate comes

to town, you should make a gating schedule, know the best times to

visit each facility, and be prepared with all of the materials you will

need—flyers, members to visit facilities with the candidates, and

clipboards for collecting names and phone numbers.”

- Jason Smith, Local 100, Cincinnati

Donate to the Campaign“I make monthly donations to Teamsters United.

It's an easy, convenient way to show my support

and confidence in our candidates and I consider it

an investment in my future. Please join me and

give what you can. Do it monthly. It demonstrates

we are committed to our team for the long haul.”

- Jack Chatburn, Local 2727, Louisville

Wear Campaign Gear“I'm a road driver and I wear my Teamsters

United hat every day. At the terminals, hotels,

when I stop for breakfast, Teamsters from dif-

ferent parts of the country ask questions and

learn more about Teamsters United.”

- Scott Franciskovich, Local 179, Illinois

Organize a LocalNetwork“Five years ago we only had

one delegate running and this

time we have a full slate of

11 for Teamsters United. The

movement to get rid of Hoffa

is growing and we’re going

to keep campaigning and

building momentum to finally get rid of him for good this fall!”

- Phil Richards, Local 630, Los Angeles

TEAMSTER ELECTION 2016

Hoffa-Hall are trying to head off an election by blocking Zuckerman and

his running mates from securing the delegates they need to get on the ballot.

Candidates need to be backed by at least five percent of the delegates to

get on the ballot.

Regional candidates—for positions like Western or Central Region Vice

President—need to meet that bar in their region. The Hoffa Campaign’s sec-

ondary goal is to block Teamsters United regional candidates from getting on

the ballot.

Most local officers are running as Hoffa delegates—but they are facing an

increasing number of contested elections from Teamsters United supporters.

In a major setback for Hoffa, the Rebuild 710 Slate won the delegate elec-

tion in the 17,000-member Chicago Local 710.

The local is in trusteeship—and the trustee is Hoffa’s running mate John

Coli. The Hoffa-Coli candidates lost in a four-way race. The other threedelegate slates all opposed Hoffa.

Other members have used their delegate races to lay the groundwork for

victory in the fall. Past election results show that opposition candidates do

well in the fall in locals where they have contested the delegate elections.

“Our local officers went unchallenged in delegate elections for 25 years.

Not this time,” said Local 745 member Mario Leyva. “We won 42 percent of

the vote and we woke up a lot of Teamsters. Our main goal is to beat Hoffa.

In October, when the ballot says Hoffa versus Zuckerman, we are going to

carry the vote from Dallas to El Paso for Teamsters United. We lost this

battle, but we will win the war.”

What’s At Stakeat the Teamster Convention?

Teamster Democracy: Hoffa-Hall want to prevent an elec-tion by blocking Teamsters United candidates from securing

enough delegate support to get on the ballot.

Majority Rule to Vote on Contracts: Hoffa-Hall changed theConstitution and imposed concessionary contracts that had

been rejected by the members. Convention Delegates can

vote on Constitutional changes.

Concessions & Pension Cuts: Convention delegates willdebate Teamster policies—and how to reverse Hoffa-Hall’s

failures to negotiate good contracts, protect our pensions and

healthcare, and organize the nonunion competition.

Teamsters United volunteers are organizing in their localsand gearing up for the Teamster Convention in June whereFred Zuckerman and Teamsters United candidates will benominated to run against the Hoffa-Hall slate this fall.


10/12


PENSION CRISIS TIMELINEHoffa promised a “Real 25 & Out” Pension to every Teamster. Instead, he’s overseen the worst pension crisisin Teamster history. Over 400,000 Teamsters face pension cuts. The pension crisis timeline reveals how wegot here. The Save Our Pensions movement points the way forward.

2000: Hoffa comes into officewith 185,000 working Teamsters in

the CSPF, a healthy ratio of almost

1:1 with retirees. Under Hoffa,

companies are allowed to exit the

fund, and next to no companies are

bargained into it. This is the root cause of the CSPF disaster.

2003: TDU obtains and reveals CSPFdocuments that prove that Hoffa knew

about the CSPF shortfall by May 3, 2002,

and lied to members to settle short in the

Freight, UPS and Carhaul contracts.

2007: There’s no sh*t-kicking. Instead, KenHall lets UPS abandon the CSPF. The new

UPS-IBT plan provides lower benefits than

other Teamster plans. TDU and some officers

warn that CSPF will now be in grave danger,

including thousands of UPS Teamsters who

retired prior to 2008. Hoffa and Hall call the

warnings “TDU lies.”

2009: The Hoffa administration launchesa series of concessions with YRC, the

CSPF’s largest participating employer.

Supposedly pension contributions wouldsnap-back in 2011. They don’t, and YRC

contributes a tiny fraction of the contract

pension rate to this day.

2012: Hoffa signs a national pipeline con-tract to allow yet another pull-out from the

CSPF. More pull-outs follow, and CSPF

falls into more trouble.

October 2013: CSPF Director Thomas Nyhan is the star witness at the

Congressional hearing on “Solutions NotBailouts.” One day before the hearing,

Hoffa issues a new letter, now hedging his

bets on “Solutions not Bailouts.” While

praising “Solutions not Bailouts” as

“extremely thoughtful and sophisticated,”

for the first time Hoffa also says that “we

cannot at this time support any proposal to cut accrued benefits.” Ten

years too late, under growing pressure, Hoffa starts to change his tune.

2002: Following the 9/11 attacks, Teamster pension fund suffer stock losses. A report pre-

pared by CSPF Special Counsel William Saxbe

warns Teamster President James Hoffa that

more money will be needed to shore up the

CSPF in upcoming bargaining. Hoffa keeps it

secret and assures members that the contracts

will “provide the necessary funding to protect

members’ pensions.” It’s a lie.

2006: Ken Hall tells the Teamster Convention in LasVegas that if UPS comes after the Teamster pension plan,

then they will “get the sh*t kicked out of them by the

Teamsters.”

2008: Wall Street gambles and Teamsterslose. The housing bubble brought on by Wall

Street, especially Goldman Sachs, crashes the

US and world economy. The CSPF loses bil-

lions of dollars as a result. Hoffa remains

silent, and continued warnings about CSPF’s

future are ignored.

2012: The Hoffa Administration, concernedabout the funding of their own special officer-

only pensions, boosts dues payments to the

plans. $12.5 million to the Family Plan, and

$9 million to the Teamster Affiliates Plan.That kind of money could launch a massive

political campaign to save the CSPF, but

Hoffa denies there is any need.

February 2013: The move to slash CSPF benefits begins in earnest with the issuance of

“Solutions Not Bailouts”, the outline of what

would become the pension-cut law.

“Solutions Not Bailouts” lists its supporters

as the IBT and UPS, among others. James

Hoffa is on the Board of Directors of the

NCCMP, the sponsor of it. TDU, the Pension Right Center, the AARP and

a few unions begin working seriously to protect pensions and head off this

train wreck. TDU begins a series of meetings to inform members. The

Hoffa administration denounces the warnings as “TDU lies.”

December 2014: The Multi-employer PensionReform Act (MPRA) is attached literally in the mid-

dle of the night to the omnibus budget bill, with no

vote on MPRA in either the House or the Senate.

Hoffa finally opposes the bill at the 11th hour. A

secret memo from Thomas Nyhan reveals it’s a

political show: “[Hoffa’s] minions are preparing a

letter to the Hill in opposition to the legislative…I do not believe they are

planning on dispatching any troops to the Hill or making any visits but

simply writ[ing] a letter they will likely post on their website to offset

some of the TDU noise.”


11/12


Corporate America will do anything for a

buck. They’ll move our jobs to China to lower

wages; they’ll move their headquarters to

Bermuda to cheat on taxes; they’ll try to destroy

our pensions and impose 401Ks to lower costs

and shift the risk off of companies and on to

retirees.

The Central States crisis is just the beginning.

The pension cut cancer has already spread to the

New York State Fund with more to come.The Hoffa administration has been caught flat-

footed or worse. The pension movement is show-

ing the way forward and what it will take to win.

Mobilizing:

The pension movement is holding

organizing meetings and taking action to inform

and involve Teamsters and build public support.

Our story is on TV and in the press every day.

Political Action: The pension movement

has won the support of a number of

Congressional Reps and Senators. We need more

to win.

Alliances:

Teachers

and public workers are

fighting to save their

pensions . Others are

mobilizing to defend

Social Security. To

win, we need to go

from a Teamster issue

to a broad united campaign for retirement

security.

Demanding IBT Support: The pension

movement has forced the Hoffa administration to

flip flop on the Central States cuts and to support

the Keep Our Pension Promises Act. But we need

more than endorsements and photo ops.

The Hoffa administration spends $25 million a

year to fund their officers-only pensions.

We need Teamster leadership that will put real

resources into this movement and fight for our

pensions like they protect their own.

On April 14, Teamsters will rally in Washington to tellpolitical leaders to Save Our Pensions. They are fightingnot just for Teamster retirees, but for the pensions of millions of Americans.

Fighting for Pensions & the

American DreamUnion pensions are under attack from the public

sector to the Central States. Teamsters in the Central

States didn’t create the pension crisis that threatens

the retirement of millions of working families. But

they are leading the fight to stop it.

On April 14, more than a thousand grassroots

pension activists will rally in Washington to call on

Congress to support the Keep Our Pension PromisesAct (KOPPA) and other reforms to save the pen-

sions earned by a lifetime of hard work by millionsof retirees and their families.

They will also ask the U.S. Treasury Department

to reject proposed pension cuts put forward by

Central States that will affect over 400,000

Teamsters.

“We’ve been organizing against the proposed

cuts for over two years,” said Mike Walden, the

chair of the Northeast Ohio Committee to Protect

Pensions. “This rally is the culmination of efforts

large and small to convince Congress—and the

Treasury Department—that the cuts proposed by

Central States will not achieve solvency nor stability

going forward. And, it’s absolutely wrong that the

burden for the problems of Central States should

rest on the backs of the Teamster retirees and active

members who earned their benefits.”

The Treasury Department has until May 7 to

determine whether they will accept or reject the

Central States submission to slash pensions by 50%or greater. Thousands of these Teamsters have

organized Committees to Protect Pensions acrossthe Central and Southern regions. Many of these

committees, some with support of local unions, have

organized buses or planned car caravans to travel to

Washington on April 14.

With the Upstate New York Pension Plan now

moving to slash pensions, Teamsters are expected

from the Empire State as well.

Tom Krekeler, co-chair of the Cincinnati area

Southwest Ohio Committee to Protect Pensions,

stated, “We’re in touch with other committees in

Ohio and we’re up to ten buses and multiple car

caravans that plan on being in D.C.”

“We’ve got two buses coming from St. Louis,”

said Susan Cole, the spouse of a retired Local 604

carhauler. “We’ve got about twenty flying too!”

Activists in North Carolina report they have three

buses ready to go. Michigan reports the same. Many

others will make the trip by car or plane.

The rally program will take place from 11 a.m. to1 p.m. at the grounds of the Capitol Building.

Announced speakers include CongresswomanMarcy Kaptur (D-OH), Karen Friedman from the

Pension Rights Center and Rita Lewis, the widow of

pension movement leader Butch Lewis.

Other speakers and events are to be announced.

The International Union has endorsed the rally.

The pension movement made its voice heard on

Capital Hill when Rita Lewis addressed a Senate

hearing in March. Rita (pictured with Ohio Senator

Sherrod Brown) is the widow of Butch Lewis, a

Cincinnati Local 100 retiree, and leader in the pen-

sion movement until he passed away in December.

Her full testimony can be found at www.TDU.org.

“This is an issue of fundamental Americanvalues, of keeping promises to this nation’sretirees. We are Republicans andDemocrats and Independents. We live inyour states. We are your constituents. Weworked hard our whole lives and did every-

thing right so we could have a comfortableretirement. Not an extravagant retirement;we just wanted to have enough income tolive our sunset years with dignity and inde-pendence, to pitch in to help our kids andgrandkids.”

“[Butch] fought to right this injustice byworking with 50 retirees’ committees acrossthe country, all organized to stop the cuts.

As he said, this was a war just like he hadfought in Vietnam, and the cuts being forcedon retirees are a “war against the middleclass and American values.”

PensionMovement

Speaks Out at

U.S. SenateThe Corporate Attack on PensionsWhat’s at Stake, How to Win.


12/12

TEAMSTERS UNITED: The Final Push to Get Out the Vote“I came to my first Convention last year, joined TDU and now I'm running for dele-

gate. I'm going to back this year to meet up with Teamsters United supporters fromacross the country to plan our final push to get out the vote and win new International

leadership.”

William Thompson, UPS, Local 71, Charlotte

Get the Education We Need to Organize“To rebuild Teamster power, we have to take on the boss at our workplaces, get people

involved in their local areas, and build stronger locals. It starts from the ground up,

and the TDU Convention is where can get the tools to become better organizers.”

Luis Marquez, Republic Services, Local 396, Long Beach

2016 TDU CONVENTION

Sept. 30 Oct. 2 Chicago

SAVE THE DATE! The Convention is early this year—a couple weeks before the ballots in the IBTelection are mailed out. Don’t wait to make you plans to be in Chicago Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.

Call TDU at 313-842-2600 for more information.

Confirmed Guest Presenter: Robert SchwartzRobert Schwartz is a labor attorney and author of The Legal Rights of Union Stewards, How To Win Past Practice Grievances, The FMLA Handbook and other works.

Stay tuned for more updates on presenters and guest speakers at the 2016 TDU Convention

Teamster Voice #295, spring 2016

Documents

Transcript of Teamster Voice #295, spring 2016