The Teamsters’ James Hoffa Is Wrong About Medicare for All
Short-sighted union leaders who oppose Medicare for All — like James Hoffa of the Teamsters — think they can strengthen their own individual unions by using private health insurance as an organizing tool. But they’re sacrificing their members’ wages in the process.
Teamsters union president James Hoffa listens to a question from the media at a press conference to discuss the opening of the national contract negotiations with the United Parcel Service on September 19, 2006 in Detroit, Michigan.Bill Pugliano / Getty
Last week, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced the beginning of a new endorsement process for the 2020 presidential election. In contrast to their last-minute 2016 endorsement of Hillary Clinton, this process began with an issue survey sent out to every one of its 1.4 million members — over 20,000 responded — with more than a year to go before the general election.
Out of roughly ten issues that members were asked to rank, the top three were chosen to constitute a “Teamster Pledge”: pension and retirement security, fair trade deals, and strengthening the right to organize. Though the data are not publicly available, it is likely these are the three issues that unite both Republican and Democrat members of a typically more conservative union.
While health care was not among these top issues shaping the three-point pledge, Teamsters president James P. Hoffa decided to address it anyway — not by declaring the right of all people to quality health care, but by flatly dismissing Medicare For All:
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