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TEAMSTER

SPEAKING OUT FOR


A
STRONGER UNION

VOICE
The Corruption-Concessions

FORMERLY CONVOY DISPATCH

Teamsters for a Democratic Union


(313) 842-2600 l www.TDU.org
Fall 2016 l Issue #296

TM

Connection
A Hoffa appointee who slashed
members healthcare and
pensions faces a new probe
for embezzlement.
As members prepare to vote for
new International Union leaders, the
Hoffa-Hall administrations mounting
corruption scandals are becoming a
key election issue.
General President candidate Fred
Zuckerman says, There is a connection between Hoffa-Hall corruption
and concessions for working
Teamsters.
Hoffa and Hall seem hell-bent on
proving Zuckerman and the Teamsters
United slate right.
Exhibit A is Rome Aloise, the
Hoffa-Hall running mate who faces
corruption charges and a criminal
investigation. Among other violations,
Aloise was caught giving concessions
to a liquor distribution corporation in
exchange for free tickets to the
Playboy party at the Super Bowl for
Hoffas chief of staff.
In the latest corruption-concessions scandal, Hoffa appointee Andy
Marshall is under investigation for
embezzling union funds.
Marshall is best known for cutting
the healthcare and pensions of thousands of UPS Teamsters in the
Southwest. After members voted No
against healthcare cuts under
Teamcare, Marshall formed the new
Western Region and Local 177 Health

First came healthcare cuts. Next it was pension cuts.


Now its a corruption probe. Full story on page 8.

SPECIAL REPORT:

Working Teamsters have had enough of officer


corruption, contract concessions and sweetheart
deals that go behind the backs of the membership.
Join TDU to help us fight to remake a union we can
all be proud of.
Bob Kolstad
Hennepin County Public Defender
Local 320, Minneapolis

More on the Hoffa-Hall


Corruption-Concessions
Connection at
www.tdu.org/corruption
Fund which funded its inferior coverage by reducing members pensions
when they retire.
Another Hoffa lieutenant, Bill
Lichtenwald, has resigned in disgrace
after fleecing the Ohio Conference out
of $1.8 million in unauthorized expenditures. Under Hoffa, Lichtenwald
was never audited. Instead, he was
promoted to be a trustee at the Central
States Pension Fund where 400,000
Teamsters are threatened with losing
their pensions altogether.
For 40 years, TDU has exposed the
connection between corruption, contract concessions, and benefit cuts.
Thats why Hoffa and his backers
attack TDU. Theyre benefitting from
corruption and they dont want scrutiny from honest Teamsters.
On October 6, every Teamster will
be mailed a ballot and will get their
say. The power to end the Hoffa-Hall
corruption-concessions connection is
in your hands.

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2 TEAMSTER VOICE FALL 2016

CONTACT TDU

Victory at Verizon

P.O. Box 10128, Detroit, Mich., 48210.


Phone: (313) 842-2600 - Fax: (313) 842-0227
E-mail: tdudetroit@tdu.org
Website: www.tdu.org
NY Office: 104 Montgomery St.,
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11225.
Phone: (718) 287-3283 - Fax: (718) 287-3287

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

Organizer:
Ken Paff, Detroit

Trustees:

Nearly 40,000 strikers have defeated


Verizons concessionary demands and won a
huge victory against corporate greed.
After 45 days of the largest strike in recent
history, Verizon strikers achieved their goals.
They defeated the companys demands to
out-source good jobs, cut pensions, and be able
to forcibly transfer employees anywhere in the
companys footprint.
Instead of eliminating union jobs, the new
contract requires the company to create 1,500
more union jobs.
The strike also won the first contracts ever at
Verizon Wireless stores. The challenge now will
be to organize and build the union across
Verizon Wireless.

Special Presentation @ TDU Convention:


How We Won the Strike Hear from
a strike leader on how they beat Verizon.
TDU members are proud to have honored the
picket lines and stood with our brothers and sisters in the CWA and IBEW. New York City
Teamsters brought out their inflatable rat (pictured on the right) to Midtown hotels the company was using as scab camps. The New York
Hotel Trades Council backed the strikers too and
honored their picket lines.The hotels cancelled
Verizons rooms and tossed the strikebreakers to
the curb.
The Verizon strike shows that when we fight,
we win.

Gina Alvarez, Chicago Local 743


Willie Hardy, Memphis Local 667
Nick Perry, Columbus Local 413

Members:
Dave Bernt, Chicago Local 705
Kioma Forero, New York Local 804
Frank Halstead, Los Angeles Local 572
Tim Hill, Spokane Local 690
Stephen Mohan, New York Local 553
Stefan Ostrach, Oregon Local 206
Brooke Reeves, Rhode Island Local 251
Kas Schwerdtfeger, Milwaukee Local 344
Leonard Stoehr, Oregon Local 206

Alternates:
Charlie Jordan, New York Local 804
Dustin Ponder, New York Local 804
Joan-Elaine Miller, Philadelphia Local 623
Copyright 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.

TEAMSTERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC UNION:

WHO WE ARE, WHAT WEVE WON, WHERE WE STAND


eamsters for a Democratic Union is a grassroots
organization of thousands of members across North
America, working together to rebuild Teamster Power.
Were truck drivers, dock workers, warehouse
workers, clericalsevery 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 weve 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.

Protecting Our Benefits


TDU mobilized members to
win 25 & Out pensions and
record pension increases in
the 1990s. Now were fighting to protect those benefits.

Watchdog and Independent Voice


For the Members
TDU puts independent, factual information in members
hands and lets you decide.

Uniting Teamsters to protect


our pensions and healthcare
and win quality benefits for
all Teamstersis a top priority of TDU.

TDU stands behind union


officialsincluding the Hoffa
administrationwhen our
officers are taking action to
build Teamster Power. When union officials fail to
support the membership, we hold them accountable.

A New Direction for Our Union

A Strong Union Involves Everyone

TDUhelped 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 UPSstrikelabors biggest victory in decades.

TDUworks to unite
Teamsters of every race,
gender, ethnicity, craft,
industry, and local and to
overcome differences that
are used to divide Teamster
members from each other.
We believe that our union
leadership should reflect the membership and that a
strong union involves everyone.

TEAMSTER VOICE FALL 2016 3

CARHAUL CONTRACT: One Year Later


The biggest concessionchanging the
method of payhas been eliminated, thanks to
the decisive 87% hell no vote on Hoffas first
offer.
The IBTs Q&A for carhaulers actually
makes the claim that they rechecked the math
and figured out the employers were not telling
the truth!
In truth, rank and file power defeated that
giant concession.
There are other improvements in this second
offer, but the concessions still dominate members concerns. On a Teamsters United conference call in August, over 700 carhaulers heard
leaders and members outline the problems.
An even larger issue for carhaulersand all
Teamstersis a leadership which cannot or will
not organize in our core industries, and which
staffs grievance panels with too many people
who are in bed with the corporation on contract
interpretations.
While the rank and file rejection stopped the
biggest single concession, there are serious
problems with the proposed contract. If you
look at the unions original demands, and the
outcome, you see this is not 50-50 bargaining
but employer-dominated.
l Article 33 (Work Preservation) is weak-

As we go to press, carhaulers are voting on a second contract offer,


a full year after the contract expired on August 31, 2015. And guess
what? It still has concessions in it.
ened, to allow farming out carhaul work. The
IBT argues that this is just 2% of business, but
Fred Zuckerman points out that in a five-year
agreement, that 2% of cancer could grow to
devour union carhaul.
Across the board, carriers want to become
logistics operations, sending traffic to the
cheapest means available. The IBT has allowed
this in other contracts: up to 50% of UPS
Freight line haul traffic is now nonunion, due to
Hoffas concessions. Thats right, the largest,
most profitable transport corporation in the
world is allowed by Hoffa to farm out its linehaul workso believe it, it can happen in
carhaul.
l Article 48 is weakened in this offer, to
abrogate the 20% limitation when business has
been lost. Another potential job-killer. And it
is weakened to give more carriers more ways
to keep drivers out all week.
l Our union should be about solidarity.
Drivers, mechanics, yard workersCentralSouthern, Eastern. Examination of the

Hoffa Doesnt Have a Clue

concessions in the East, the failure to bring


mechanics up to market pay scale, these are
issues for all of us. So is the change to require
three days worked per week or lose health
coverage.
l Any raise is welcome, but an increase of
30c (just over 1%) will not even keep up with
inflation.
As we go to press, the outcome of this second
offer is unknown. The IBT Carhaul Division is
sending the Director and their attorney to meetings to tell people that a No vote means a strike
and a strike means disaster. Is that how to build
confidence of members in our union?
Carhaulers are smart Teamsters. Many have
analyzed the agreement, in discussions and on
Facebook. Whatever the outcome here, they are
about building Teamster power, with a solid
contract and organizing our core industries.
That will only come with a change in
leadership of the Teamsters Union.

We Need New Teamster Leadership


Weve seen a pathetic
track record on winnable
grievances over the
course of the last contract. Officers on the
panels must have gotten
the green light from
Hoffa to let the companies have their way.

Our so-called leadership in carhaulled by


Hoffadoesnt have a clue or plan for addressing the
nonunion cancer in our industry. They made that crystal clear with how they negotiated this contract. We
need a Teamsters United victory this fall to set the
ship on the right course and get the membership
mobilized to retake the power we once had.

Ed Nauman
Jack Cooper Transport
Local 299, Detroit

We have to put a stop


to all this and elect Fred
Zuckerman.

Walter Yanicki
CassensNiagara Falls
Local 449, Buffalo

4 TEAMSTER VOICE FALL 2016

TEAMSTER PENSION MOVEMENT


PLANS FOR VICTORY

The fight to preserve Teamsters hard-earned


pensions won a big victory when Treasury
rejected the Central States proposed cuts.
But the real fight to save pensions lies ahead.
With the challenges ahead in mind, 50 representatives
from 22 pension protection committees active from
North Dakota to North Carolina met in St Louis on July 31.
The meeting was called to bring
greater focus and organization to
the network of committees and
activists across the south and
Midwest.
We formed a leadership and a
structure to help move forward,
reported Mike Walden, the chair of
the Northeast Ohio Committee to
Protect Pensions. I was made the
chairman,
and
Sherman
Liimatainen from Duluth Local 346
was elected co-chair of the new
national committee. One focus we
want to move on is getting greater
involvement from local officers and
current working Teamsters. And we
need to continue working with our
allies to work with Congress on
finding real, fair solutions for this
crisis. And we need to keep the
pressure on Central States to give us

a real Retiree Rep (not hand-picked


by the Fund), and to come to the
table with us, as well as the union,
AARP, PRC, Congressional Reps
and other parties.
John Wilkinson, a retired
Holland Teamster out of Michigan
attended the St. Louis meeting. He
has been organizing in the midMichigan area for over a year.
We met recently in Marshall and
I reported on plans coming out of
St. Louis, said Wilkinson. We
need to get more working
Teamsters on board with this campaign. That will mean reaching out
to Michigan Teamster locals but
also continuing to hold our own
informational meetings around the
state.
The Kansas City area has been a

hot bed of activity over the past two


years, holding monthly educational
meetings as well as organizing regular actions that make the fight for
pension security more visible.
We know we won a big victory
in May but theres still much more
to do, said Wes Epperson, a retired
UPS feeder driver in Kansas City.
We need much more out of our
locals and joint councils. Officers
and delegates passed a resolution at

the recent IBT convention supporting our fight to defend the pensions.
We need those same Teamsters to
get on board with the ongoing work
of our pension protection committeeshelp with reaching more
Teamsters, with setting up meetings, with sending delegations to
Congressional representatives, and
support for our efforts to get media
coverage on the issue.

Work with Allies to Find Real Solutions


We need to continue working with our
allies to work with Congress on finding real,
fair solutions for this crisis. And we need to
keep the pressure on Central States to give us a
real Retiree Rep (not hand-picked by the
Fund), and to come to the table with us, as well
as the union, AARP, PRC, Congressional Reps, and other parties.

Mike Walden*, Local 24 Retiree, Roadway


*Mike is the newly-elected chair for the Teamster Committees to Protect
Pensions. He will take part in a workshop and planning meeting addressing pension issues at the TDU Convention, Sept 30 - Oct 2, in Chicago.

Pension Movement Focus


u Broaden support. More committees, more support from
local unions, and more outreach to other groups, such as
Teamsters in the NY Fund, other unions and organizations.
u Winning Federal Legislation that will protect pensions.
We support the Keep Our Pension Promises Act, to fulfill
ERISAs goal of protecting earned pensions. We are ready to
meet with all stakeholders to hammer out a solution fair to all.

Work Together to Fix Pension Shortfalls


We need to get more working Teamsters on
board with this campaign. That will mean
reaching out to Michigan Teamster locals but
also continuing to hold our own informational
meetings around the state.

John Wilkinson, Local 164/299 Retiree


Holland

TEAMSTER VOICE FALL 2016 5

Upstate NY Teamsters Threatened


With 20-31% Pension Cuts
In August, the New York State Teamster Pension Fund threatened
30,000 Teamsters and retirees with huge pension cuts, according to
the newly-appointed Retiree Representative, Tom Baum.
A post on the Funds website by Baum says
that the Fund plans to submit a proposal to the
U.S. Treasury to cut retiree pensions by 31%,
and impose a 20% cut on current active
Teamsters.
The proposed cuts are the result of the Fund
claiming to be in critical and declining status
under the 2014 Multiemployer Pension Reform
Act.
Over the course of the past few months, the
Fund and local officers have alerted Teamsters
to the pending cuts. In response, current and
retired Teamsters have held independent, grassroots meetings in Albany and the Hudson Valley
to counter any cuts. Mark Greene, a UPS driver
from Local 294 Albany, has been at the center
of this rank and file organizing effort.
Since the Upstate New York Teamsters pension crisis began to unfold in 2008, weve
always believed in a shared responsibility

approach for fixing the problem, stated


Greene. This would mean active Teamsters,
retirees, employers, and our government should
share the burden for fixing these pension shortfalls.
Greene and other Teamster activists have
formed the Teamsters Alliance for Pension
Protection (www.nytapp.org) as an independent
campaign to find fair solutions for maintaining
hard-earned and promised pensions.

Both active and retired Teamsters who want


to learn more and get involved in a campaign
to counter the cuts can contact TDU at
313-842-2600.
In 2010 the Fund cut pension accruals to stabilize the plan. Since that time, the stock market
has done well, so many members question what
caused this crisis.
Teamster president James Hoffa has had
nothing to say about the cuts, and done little or
nothing to help bolster Teamster pension plans.
Central States, Upstate New York, and whos
next on the block?

Work Together to Fix Pension Shortfalls


Weve always believed in a shared responsibility
approach for fixing the problem.
This would mean active Teamsters, retirees, employers,
and our government should share the burden for fixing
these pension shortfalls.

Mark Greene, UPS, Local 294, Kingston, NY

Fred Zuckerman and Teamsers United at the Washington D.C. Rally


to Save Our Pensions

Im looking forward to this


years convention. Ill be
there as TDU honors my
late husband, Butch Lewis,
and all the other retired and
active Teamsters who have
fought so hard to protect the
hard-earned pensions of
thousands of Teamsters and
their spouses.

IMAGINE THIS!

Rita Lewis

A Teamster Leadership that


Fights All-Out to Defend Pensions

Chair, Pension Surviving Spouse Committee


Cincinnati, Ohio

Just think what our Teamsters Union could do, with


hundreds of millions of dollars and the ability to reach
and mobilize over a million members and hundreds of
thousands of retirees!
Fred Zuckerman and Teamsters United are prepared to do
that, and more. Not just photo-ops and PR, but an all-out
mobilization.
And retirees and active Teamsters can make it happen.

TDU Convention:
Chicago, Sept. 30 - Oct. 2
Join Rita Lewis and other fighters in the pension movement to honor
Butch Lewis, take stock of our struggle, and plan the next steps in our
fight to save our pensions.
Contact TDUto find our more at 313-842-2600 or email info@tdu.org.

6 TEAMSTER VOICE FALL 2016

WHY TDU BACKS TEAMSTERS UNITED


For 40 years, Teamsters for a Democratic
Union (TDU) has been the network of
Teamsters working together to make our
union strong and democratic. Weve had
victories and defeats, weve continued to
grow, and we work to bring out the best in the
Teamsters Union.
We believe our union is at a crossroads
after 17 years of the Hoffa administration.
Look at the Hoffa record.
l Our national contracts are weakened or
broken. Our grievance panels are company dominated.
l Our pension fundsstrong when he
took officeare in grave danger.
l Our organizing program aims for the
easiest winsnot building Teamster
power.
l Our membersour best resourceare
demoralized and detached from our
union.
l Our efforts to clean up our union are

frustrated by Hoffas reliance on


corrupt power brokers.
But opposing Hoffa is not enough to earn
the endorsement of TDU. We are all about a
positive program for building Teamster
Power.

Why We Back Teamsters United


Teamsters United is led by Fred
Zuckerman, who has never been a TDU member, but is a leader who has earned our respect
with his stands and his actions in support of
Teamster members. Teamsters United is also a
diverse team of experienced national leaders,
local leaders and new leaders, from all sectors
of our union and representing various views.
We need a leadership that can make big
changes. A leadership that:
l mobilizes and informs members,
instead of fearing members.
l has a strategy to winbuilding and
re-building national contracts and

national support for local struggles.


l unites members and locals, instead of
silencing dissent.
l has a plan to build Teamster Power
through strategic organizing.
l involves all Teamsters, including
younger Teamsters, retirees, minorities, and women, and promotes new
leadership at all levels.
l defends all Teamster pensions,
organizes new members into our pension plans, and uses Teamster political
clout to win retirement security.
l respects Teamster democracy in
contract votes and union elections, and
that roots out corruption instead of
rewarding corrupt power brokers.
The Teamsters United team has shown in
action that they are committed to these
changes.

Join Teamsters United at the TDU Convention


Ill be at the TDU Convention to make plans with campaign volunteers from across
the country to get out the vote and win this election. Its our last chance to meet with the slate
and other volunteers so were ready when the ballots are mailed.

Frank Villa, Local 630, Los Angeles

Convention Workshops include:


Getting Out the Vote (GOTV) for Teamsters United
Talk with campaign leaders about the Teamsters United strategy for turning out the 150,000 votes we need
to win. Make plans for GOTV in your local and area, including candidate visits, phonebanking, social media
strategies and more.

After We Win
Beating Hoffa is just half the battle. What will it take to rebuild union power, defend our contracts, pensions and
benefits, organize the unorganized? Be prepared to take on employers and old guard officials who want to hold
our union back.

TEAMSTER VOICE FALL 2016 7

How You Can Help Beat Hoffa


and Elect Teamsters United
Im Passing Out Leaflets
I pass out leaflets at my job before
and after work. When the ballots go
out, Im taking time off to get the word
out at other companies. We need to
inform people so they know whats
going onand we need to be there
when the ballots come out to remind
people to vote.

Rafael Sanchez, Holland, Local 71, Charlotte, N.C.

Members are stepping up to help elect


Fred Zuckerman and Teamsters United.
Teamsters will vote this fall
by mail ballot to elect new
International Union leadership.
Ballots are mailed out to every
Teamster on October 6 and will
be counted on November 14.
It will take 150,000 votes to
beat Hoffa and elect Fred
Zuckerman and the Teamsters
United slate.
Teamsters United volunteers
are organizing to make that happen. TDU members are all-in as
part of the effort.
Were doing more than mailing back our ballots. Were campaigning and informing other
Teamster members. Were

mobilizing to make sure members vote.


Most Teamsters dont even
know theres an election. The
majority of ballots will get
thrown out. Last time, eighty
percent of the members didnt
vote.
Thats a sorry statement. But
its also an opportunity. The
members who do vote will determine the future of our union.
If we reach out to Teamster
members and boost voter turnout
so that 1/3 of Teamsters vote,
Teamsters United will win and
Fred Zuckerman will be the next
General President.

Gear Up for the Campaign Trail!


Make sure youre geared up when you hit
the gates. Contact the campaign to get
your Teamsters United T-shirts, stickers,
banners, and signs.

Im Calling Voters
Members have six weeks to vote by
mail starting on October 6. Im helping
organize a Teamsters United phone
bank to call members to make sure they
got a ballot and remind them to vote.

Martin Short, Jack Cooper


Local 414, Fort Wayne, Ind.

Im Collecting Phone Numbers


When the ballots go out, we want to
call and text 150,000 members to
remind them to vote for Fred
Zuckerman and Teamsters United. I tell
people, Give me your number and
well call you and make sure you got
your ballot. Then I send the info in to
the campaign. Its easy.

Richard Blake, UPS, Local 512, Jacksonville, Fla.

Im Donating for Victory


One of the keys to winning is for
Fred to be able to send a mailing to
every member to remind them to vote.
That costs big money. Ive donated
$500 and Ive been selling raffle tickets
to raise more money. I cant afford to
have Hoffa negotiate more concessions
and cuts. Im donating up front as an
investment in my future.

Peter Smith, UPS, Local 771, Lancaster, Penn.

www.teamstersunitedgear.org

8 TEAMSTER VOICE FALL 2016

Pension Cuts Hit UPS Teamsters


in Southwest
When Hoffa-Hall and UPS cut a deal to move
members into Teamcare, members from Southern
California to Arizona voted no to protect their
health benefits.
To save face and push the contract through,
Hoffa-Hall and Western Region UPS Director
Andy Marshall created a new Western Region &
Local 177 Health Plan to replace Teamcare in the
Southwest and Northern New Jersey.
Now thousands of UPS Teamsters find themselves stuck in an inferior health planand
UPSers in the Southwest are stuck with lower
pensions, too.
Being moved into the new health plan will
cost me $125,000 in reduced pension when I
retire, said Hugo Leal, a package car driver in
Los Angeles Local 396. Thats not what I had in
mind when I voted no.
For the first three years of the contract, UPS is
putting $1.25 less per hour toward members pension in the Southwest and Local 177 than what
was originally negotiated.
That money, which was supposed to go to fund

UPS Teamsters in the Southwest thought they saved their


health benefits by voting no.
But they got stuck with an inferior health planand
pension cuts too.

members pensions, was diverted to the new substandard health plan instead.
The result in the West is lower pensions when
members retire.
Teamsters in SoCal and the Southwest are the
only UPSers in the West taking this pension hit.
Everyone else in the West got higher pension contributions without any cuts to their healthcare.

How Healthcare Cuts


Led to Lower Pensions
The Western Region & Local 177 health plan
costs more than the original Teamcare benefits
that members rejected in the first vote.
But Hoffa and Hall didnt negotiate one new
dime from UPS in the second contract offer to pay
for the more expensive plan. The money had to
come from somewhere and its coming from

Not What I Had In Mind When I Voted No


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
next contract is negotiated by leaders that will
stand up to UPS.

Hugo Leal, Local 396, Los Angeles

members pension contributions.


Under the contract, UPS has to pay $1 per hour
more each year into our benefits. This money was
supposed to be split 50-50 between healthcare and
pension.
But in the first three years of the contract, $2.75
went to pay for the inferior new health plan and
just 25 cents went to fund members pensions.
Even that didnt protect members from reductions in their healthcare.
We went from a 90/10 plan to an 80/20 plan
with worse prescription benefits. Some members
have gotten caught with no health coverage at all
under the one-punch ruleand now we have pension cuts on top of that, said Edgar Esquivel, a
cover driver in Orange County Local 952.
Hoffa-Hall sold us out so were organizing to
vote them out, Esquivel said.

Calculating your pension cut


To calculate how much your pension will
be cut, multiply the number of years you
have until you retire times $312. Then multiply that number times the number of years
you will be retired.
For example, if you have 14 years to go
before retirement and plan to collect a pension for 25 years, multiply 10 x $312 x 25.
This equals $109,200.
Thats the steep price members are
paying for the new health plan.

Hoffa Western Rep Under Embezzlement Investigation


Andy Marshall, the architect of the deal that cut the pensions
and health benefits of UPS Teamsters across the Southwest, is
under investigation for embezzlement.
Marshall is the principal officer of Arizona Local 104, a Hoffa
International Rep and the UPS Director for the Western Region.
The Independent Investigations Officer has issued a subpoena for bank
records from Chase Bank and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) as
part of an investigation into what the subpoena calls embezzlement.
The subpoena states that Local 104, headed by Marshall, issued two credit
cards to at least eleven people. Investigation showed that monthly credit card
statements were missing and the local routinely paid the bills without
requiring receipts.
The investigation has been on-going for several months. The IRO is looking into issues well beyond the credit cards according to individuals with
knowledge of the investigation. No charges have been filed as of yet.
Marshall was paid $200,636 in 2015 from his three union salaries.

TEAMSTER VOICE FALL 2016 9

UPS is Happy With the Contract


How About You?
As the contract entered its fourth year, UPS announced it is on pace to make over $5 billion.
Teamster Voice asked UPSers how the members are doing under the contract.
Excessive Overtime & Over-Dispatch
The company is abusing technology to blow out
routes and pressure drivers to do more stops. In my
local we fight back, but the 9.5 language is weak and
the grievance panels and the IBT are in the companys
pocket. Teamsters at UPS want changeand we
need it.
Frank Hay, Local 251, Providence

Part-Timers Sold Out


This contract is a failure for part-timers who need
higher pay and more full-time jobs. If fast food workers can win $15 an hour, UPS part-timers shouldnt be
stuck with a $10 starting pay. Thats for damn sure.
Were tired of being sold out.
Lennox James, Local 804, New York

Healthcare Cuts
We were promised that TeamCare would be mirror
coverage of our old benefits. Theyre not even close.
Every day is a new surprise, from paying through the
nose at the ER to inferior prescription and vision coverage. Next year our deductibles go up. Ken Hall said
we wouldnt pay nine cents for our healthcare. That
was just another lie.
Dave Fischer, Local 413, Columbus, Oh.

Loopholes & Weak Leadership


The language has too many loopholes and whenever
theres a grey area it goes managements way. The contract isnt worth the paper its written on if the union
leadership wont go to bat for you and enforce it.
Harold Armstrong, Local 667, Memphis, TN

TDU Convention Workshops

leverage tooso you win a good settlement or youre prepared with a


well-documented case if you have to go to panel.

Building Teamster Power at UPS

UPS Teamster Roundtable

The TDU Convention is the place to be for UPSers


who want to make a difference on the job and in our
union. Join us for workshops and meetings that give
Teamsters the tools we need to organize for
change.
Benjamin Cline, UPS, Local 705, Chicago

How to Win Your UPS Grievance


UPS Teamsters are caught between aggressive management and a
broken grievance procedure. How to build your case and build your

Share strategies with UPS stewards, drivers, part-timers and 22.3s.


Find out what management is up to in other localsand how members
are responding. Come home with ideas for winning 9.5 grievances,
taking on supervisors working, fighting for more full-time jobs and
organizing UPS Teamsters for change.

UPS Teamsters & the 2016 Election


The 240,000 Teamsters at UPS will play a decisive role in the
election between Hoffa-Hall and the Fred Zuckerman Teamsters
United Slate. Talk with the candidates and make campaign plans
with Teamster United volunteers for getting out the vote.

UPS Teamsters Take to the Radio


Members werent getting information from their local.
Two UPSers decided to do something about it
and Local 804 radio was born.
Now Teamsters across the country
are tuning in to the What the Heck
Show starring Hector Fortis and
Dave Cintron, two shop stewards
from Local 804 in New York.
Our local officers were keeping
members in the dark, Fortis said.
Were doing this on our time and on
our dime to bring members together
for a better union.
Callers phone in or submit questions by live chat about problems on

the job and how to grieve them.


Shop stewards talk with members
about how to protect themselves from
management.
The show has featured interviews
with Teamsters who are organizing
against pension cuts or Teamster
corruption.
In between the serious topics,
Fortis and Cintron poke fun at
Teamster officials who b.s. the members and share laughs with callers.

We have fun with it, Fortis said.


The What the Heck Show runs
every Saturday night at 6 pm
Eastern. Log in to listen at
www.Local804radio.com

You can also download the podcast at


www.whattheheckshow.podomatic.com

10 TEAMSTER VOICE FALL 2016

Everyone Can Do Something


An Interview on Organizing with Dave Bernt, Local 705, Chicago
Dave Bernt is a member of the Chicago Teamsters
United Committee. Teamster Voice spoke with him
about how theyve been so successful and tips he
has for other members.

What kinds of activities has the


Chicago Teamsters United
Committee been up to?
We do regular, weekly campaigning at shops throughout the Chicago
area. We always do it in teams, of
anywhere from 2 to 15 people for
the bigger shops.
We polled our core people and
found that Mondays are good
dayspeople who work split-shifts
or have Mondays off or can take a
day then. So now, everyone knows
that Mondays are campaigning days
and can join us at the targets that
week.
We also have monthly meetings
for our core volunteers. Well give a
brief report of the national campaign, report on our activities since
the last meeting and go over plans
for the coming month. We regularly
draw about 20 members to our
monthly meetings.
We use the monthly meetings to
do trainings. This is importantits
not just a talk shop, but a workshop
to prepare people for getting out in
the field. We train people on how to
do gating, what to expect when

youre out there, how to build a rap,


how to identify supporters versus
cranks and who we want to reach.
Members have more confidence if
they feel theyre following a playbook that is tried and tested, rather
than just winging it on their own.
Our main goal is to make sure their
experience is productiveif new
members get out there and have a
bad experience, dont reach many
people, they can get discouraged.
But if we put them in a position
where they can be successful,
theyre going to stick at it and be
around for the long haul.
We have one quiet supporter, who
just started by passing out leaflets.
But after hed come out with us a
few times and watched how others
reached out, he built up his own rap
and got good at engaging people.
Hes still quiet, but the difference
now is he found a method comfortable for him and is an excellent
campaigner.
How have you been so successful
in getting members involved?
The campaign is naturally attracting more people. And when people
saw us out at the gates, or our
Facebook posts with pictures of us
at different facilities, they saw we
arent just talkers, but were do-ers.
People are attracted to an ongoing

operation thats doing something.


And you have to be flexible and
have different roles for different
members. Some canand dogo
out with us every Monday, others
cant get time off or have family
commitments. Thats ok, we find
other ways to plug them in. Sell
raffle tickets, attend an event, get
leaflets out at your shop.
The campaign gives the opportunity for everybody to do something
concrete. One guy was frustrated he
couldnt make it out with us or come
to events. Can you talk to your coworkers, spread the word at your
shop?
Youre in Chicago. What advice
do you have for Teamsters in
smaller areas?
Everybody can get involved
somehow. Its just a matter of finding out what makes the most sense
in your area.
It might not make sense to have
regular meetingsbut can you
contact the campaign and set up
a conference call with members in
your region?
Start by picking one day when
you and maybe just one other member (but as many as possible) can
take a day off to do campaigning
together.

Adjust it to whatever resources


you have. The key thing is to do
some ongoing organizing activity at
some level.
Has TDU helped you become more
effective? How?
TDU is absolutely important to
us. TDU is like the living memory
of the dos and donts of Teamster
politics.
Theres a wealth of knowledge
and experience in TDU that I lean
on for advice on how to organize,
what works and what doesnt. Ive
only been around for the last 2 elections, but I meet and learn from people like Craig Karnia, who was
active in Ron Careys campaigns.
We dont have to reinvent the wheel
every election. Some things change
of course, but a lotthe methods,
how to successfully reach out to
membersstay the same.
TDU gives us the tools we
needall we need is to get out
there.
What do you have planned next?
The key focus now is continuing
to campaign and sign up supporters,
non-stop. We decided not to go for
another big event now, but to do targeted fundraising instead. At our
next meeting, we going to set individual fundraising goals and make
commitments we can be held to.
Were going to be realistic, but you
can bet that well hold each other
accountable too.

TEAMSTER VOICE FALL 2016 11

Running for Local Union Office


We need strong leadership in the Teamsters Union
including in our local unions.
TDU has literally written the book on proven strategies
and tips for running for local union office.
Running for local union office is a
chance to do more than change the faces
at the union hall. We can build stronger
Teamster locals, improve representation,
and elect officers who will stand up
against the pension cuts and build
Teamster power.
Nearly one-third of Teamster locals
have elections in any given year. Many
of those races are decided by the steps
that candidates takeor fail to taketo
prepare and organize.
You can change your local leadership,
but not with a last-minute effort. You
need to be organized and know the steps
that build successful campaigns.
These key steps should be taken even
if you dont have a full slate or youre
not sure if youre going to run.

Bring Concerned Members Together


Get your campaign off on the right
foot by bringing concerned members
together from the beginning. You do not
have to start by forming a slate or nailing down candidates.
Start by focusing on issues
Talk about the problems that are holding your local back and proposals for
positive changes.
Define some next steps that a committee could take to prepare a run for
officeeven if youre just exploring the
possibility.
Agree on a Platform for Change
Defining a platform or a program for
positive change is a good task for your
committee. Hold a meeting dedicated to
this topic. Let people brainstorm a list of
reforms without criticizing or debating
each suggestion. Then discuss the list as
a whole and prioritize your goals.
Every local has its own issues. But
good platforms have a few things in
common:
l They stress the problems that concern most members.
l They focus on positive solutions
without over-promising.
l They are short and to the point.
Few members will read long statements.
Study Your Local
l Get the list of worksite locations
and shift schedules
l Contracts: Their strengths and
weaknesses at different shops
l Issues: What do members care
about in different shops?

l Finances: How are members dues


being spent?
The best way to get this information
is by talking to members one-on-one.
But there are other steps you should
know about.
Reviewing contracts: Under federal
law, the LMRDA, every member has a
right to review all of his or her locals
collective bargaining agreements.
Contact TDU on details of this right.
Worksite Lists: Contact TDU for
help in getting the list of worksites for
your local.
Financial reports: Every local is
required to file financial reports with the
Department of Labor each year. These
LM-2 forms are available from TDU.

Build a Membership Database


As a candidate, you have a legal right
to do mailings to the membership, but
you do not have a right to a copy of the
membership list or members phone
numbers or emails.
Successful campaigns collect members phone numbers early and often
using raffle tickets, surveys, petitions,
and sign-in sheets from campaign
meetings.
You should put someone in charge of
putting your contacts phone numbers
into a database that you can use to get
out the vote down the line with calls and
texts.
Other Tips
Make a budget and fundraising plan.
Your budget should include funds for
mailings to the membership. Fundraisers
with low overhead like raffles tend to
generate the most funds and the most
member involvement, too.
Make it easy for members to contact
you by establishing a post office box, a
phone number or voice mail where
members can leave messages, and an
e-mail address.
Schedule vacation time in advance so
that you will have time off to campaign
during the election.
TDU has decades of experience in
local elections. If youre thinking about
running for local union office, contact us
today. We can advise you on the ins and
outs and even schedule a workshop on
legal and organizing strategies for building a successful local union election
campaign.

Change at the International,


And in Our Local Union
North Carolina is not Hoffa
country. We need change at the
International Union level and in our
local union, too. Were campaigning
to elect Fred Zuckerman and
running a Teamsters United slate
in our local election too.
Willie Ford, UPS, Local 71, Charlotte

Tired of Corruption, Members


Deserve Honest Leadership
Members are tired of corruption
at the International Union and in our
local, too. Were taking on Hoffas
running mate Rick Middleton right
in his local union. Local 572
members deserve strong, honest
leadership that will stand up to the employers and
represent the members the right way. Thats what
Teamsters United 572 is all about.
Frank Halstead, Ralphs, Local 572, Los Angeles

Get Help From TDU


After five years of failed leadership under a Trusteeship, members
in Local 2011 have finally won the
right to elect our local leaders.
Were running to give members
the representation they deserve and
we couldnt have done it without
TDU.
Kim Schultz, Florida Dept. of Corrections
Local 2011, Florida

Get the Book!


This comprehensive guide covers
building your team, campaign dos and
donts, phone and email lists, flyers,
mailers, websites, Facebook, fundraising, negative attacks, observing the
vote count, and much more.

Order at www.tdu.org

2016 TDU CONVENTION

Sept. 30 - Oct. 2 u Chicago

The Final Push to Send Hoffa Packing


The ballots for the International election go out in October. Hoffas
days are numbered.
Join me and other Teamsters United candidates at the TDU
Convention. Together, well plan our final campaign push to win this
election and send Hoffa packing.

Fred Zuckerman, Teamster General President Candidate


What to Expect at the 2016 TDU Convention:
l Workshops on enforcing contracts, protecting pensions, getting members involved,
winning grievances, member-to-member organizing, and more.
l Labor experts and attorneys, including Robert Schwartz, Ann Curry Thompson,
Robert Bussel (author of Total Person Unionism), and more.
l Industry meetings and caucuses.
l Three days of education, inspiration, and union solidarity.

2016 TDU Convention, Sept. 30 - Oct. 2, Chicago Holiday Inn OHare


Call TDU at 313-842-2600 or email info@tdu.org for more information.

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