Our special summer issue is out now. Get a discounted subscription to our print magazine today. Your support keeps us publishing!

The Teamster Revolt Against the Hoffa Era

By
David Levin

After years of givebacks and autocratic leadership under James Hoffa Jr, the power of the Teamsters has withered. But rank-and-file activists are mobilizing against contract concessions, taking over local unions, and building a coalition to transform the union.

Members of Teamsters for a Democratic Union organized to vote no on givebacks in a contract with UPS. Teamsters for a Democratic Union

Willie Ford listened to the conference call in disbelief from the cab of his tractor trailer on I-95 as the Teamster election monitor announced the results of the contract vote covering 250,000 workers at UPS.

Ford, a leader of Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU), and rank-and-file activists like him, had spent months organizing the UPS Teamster United campaign to win contract improvements.

But UPS management and top Teamster officials agreed to givebacks, including a two-tier wage scale for drivers, and spent millions on a coordinated campaign to promote and push through their concessionary deal.

This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.