TEAMSTER
STRONGER UNION
VOICE
CORRUPTION AGAIN?
While Teamster members fight
concessions and pension cuts, the
Hoffa administration is rocked by
yet 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
Interview: Fred Zuckerman
Fires Back
Teamster Voice sits down with the
Teamsters United candidate for
General President—and he pulls no
punches. Page 3
SPECIAL REPORT:
Why Hoffa Can’t
Kick the Corruption
Habit– Page 5-7.
the Aloise scandal, the long history of
Hoffa administration corruption, and
why 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.
Pension Crisis: It’s About
More than Central States
What caused the pension cut crisis and
what will it take to save the retirement
dreams of 400,000 Teamsters and mil-
lions of Americans? Pages 10-11
SPEAKING OUT FOR
A
FORMERLY CONVOY DISPATCH
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
(313) 842-2600 l www.TDU.org
Spring 2016 l Issue #295
TM
Hoffa and Ken Hall are standing by Vice President
Rome Aloise, who is charged with racketering.
“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. I
encourage folks to join and help sustain the fight.”
Mark Dray, Local 638
UPS Retiree, Minneapolis
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2 — TEAMSTER VOICE SPRING 2016

CONTACT TDU

LETTERS 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.,
A Teamster Civics Lesson Brooklyn, N.Y. 11225.
Dear Teamster Voice: Phone: (718) 287-3283 - Fax: (718) 287-3287

Our eleven year old granddaughter, Isabella, joined my wife Barb TDU INTERNATIONAL
and me for a trip to the Senate Finance committee hearing on
MPRA. Isabella is keenly aware of the impact the proposed Central
STEERING
States pension cuts will have on her grandparents and thousands of COMMITTEE
other middle class families. Her favorite class in school is Social Co-Chairs:
Studies and she got a great lesson in civics when it came to hearing Dan Campbell, Milwaukee Local 200
Rita Lewis speak out in support of working and retired Teamsters. Michael Savwoir, Kansas City Local 41
Mark Timlin, New Jersey Local 177
I encourage other Teamsters to reach out to their families and Julian Tysh, New York Local 814
involve them in our campaign to find meaningful solutions to protect Organizer:
our retirement security and all of our family's futures. Ken Paff, Detroit
Whitlow Wyatt, CF Retiree, Local 413, Columbus Trustees:
Gina Alvarez, Chicago Local 743
Willie Hardy, Memphis Local 667
I’m sick and tired of these Teamster brothers going up Nick Perry, Columbus Local 413
Where’s Our Share of YRC Profits?
the ranks to local and international Teamster officials and Members:
Dear Teamster Voice: becoming crooks. Not all of them, but it happens way Dave Bernt, Chicago Local 705
Kioma Forero, New York Local 804
YRC Teamsters were supposed to get profit-sharing if more than it should. Frank Halstead, Los Angeles Local 572
we made 97 % operating ratio. YRC just reported 98%, Joe Hoyt, Local 299, Detroit Tim Hill, Spokane Local 690
so we don’t get a dime. Nonunion Reddaway employees Stephen Mohan, New York Local 553
Stefan Ostrach, Oregon Local 206
do get one. They can afford a CEO making over 10 mil- Pension Movement Needs to Grow Brooke Reeves, Rhode Island Local 251
lion a year and cameras going in tractors. “Kas” Schwerdtfeger, Milwaukee Local 344
Dear Teamster Voice: Leonard Stoehr, Oregon Local 206
I call on Hoffa and Tyson Johnson to get into this and
Our fight to defend our pensions has grown by leaps Alternates:
stop any further nonsense. Charlie Jordan, New York Local 804
and bounds over the past year. We've ignited a grassroots
Alex Aguilar, YRC, Local 104, Arizona Dustin Ponder, New York Local 804
campaign that needs to spread to other unions as well as Joan-Elaine Miller, Philadelphia Local 623
the millions who face potential cuts to social security. Our Copyright © 2016 by Teamsters for a Democratic Union.
Aloise Must Give Up Multiple Pensions efforts have planted the seeds for what needs to be a mas- Contents may be reprinted by labor unions or rank and
file organizations for use in the promotion of union
Dear Teamster Voice: sive movement to defend retirement security. democracy. Employers and all others may not use these
materials without the specific, written permission of

If Rome Aloise is found guilty of this corruption, no Bob McNattin, Local 120, Minneapolis, Teamsters for a Democratic Union. If material is used, its
source, TDU Teamster Voice, must be cited.
way should he be able to collect those multiple pensions Cemstone Retiree
and $1 million lump sum from our Teamster treasury.

TEAMSTERS FOR A DEMOCRATIC UNION:

WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE’VE WON, WHERE WE STAND
eamsters for a Democratic Union is a grassroots
T organization of thousands of members across North
America, working together to rebuild Teamster Power.
Fighting Corruption
TDU takes on Teamster
Protecting Our Benefits
TDU mobilized members to
We’re truck drivers, dock workers, warehouse officials who abuse members’ win 25-and-out pensions
workers, clericals—every kind of Teamster, and retirees trust by using our union to and record pension increases
and spouses, too. advance themselves, not in the 1990s. Now we’re
the membership. fighting to protect those
We fight for good contracts and oppose concessions
and benefit cuts. We oppose excessive salaries benefits from pension cuts.
and multiple salaries for Uniting Teamsters to protect
We bring Teamsters together to enforce our rights
Teamster officials which our benefits and healthcare—
and to hold union officials accountable to the members.
waste millions we could be spending to win strong and win quality benefits for all Teamsters—is a top
TDU is run by Teamsters for Teamsters. Our leadership contracts and organize new members. priority of TDU.
body, the International Steering Committee, is elected
each year at our TDU Convention.
Not controlled by any official and answerable only
Education for Union Power A New Direction for Our Union
to the rank and file, we are an independent voice for Information is power. TDU helped vote the old
working Teamsters. TDU sponsors educational guard out of office in 1991
For more than 30 years, TDU has been uniting workshops to train Teamsters and started to put our union
Teamsters to put our union to work for the members. how to overcome apathy, on the right track.
involve members, enforce Under new leadership our
Find out what we’ve won and where we stand.
their rights and develop as union reversed a 16-year
If you believe in rebuilding Teamster Power by union leaders. decline in membership.
getting members informed and involved, then Teamsters
Mobilized members won the
for a Democratic Union may just be the group for you.
1997 UPS strike—labor’s biggest victory in decades.

Fred Zuckerman Fires Back
Teamster Voice interviews the straight-shooting candidate for
Teamster General President.
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, we
have 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 the
Kentucky 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 years
they 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.
TEAMSTER VOICE SPRING 2016 — 3
“A union is about standing
up and fighting back—but
you’ve got to do it smart
and have a plan to win.”
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 the
gifts 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 the
votes 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.
4 — TEAMSTER VOICE SPRING 2016

No Answer from Hoffa-Hall on

UPS Freight Subcontracting
Non-union independent subcontractors line the
dock at the UPS Freight terminal in South
Holland, Illinois waiting for freight.
Local 710 Teamsters sit at home without work,
waiting to be dispatched.
It’s a familiar scene to UPS Freight Teamsters
who have been sold out by Hoffa-Hall.
“We have seen every single well- “When I got a job at UPS Freight,
documented subcontracting I thought I hit the lottery. Now as
grievance lose at the regional and they constantly use contractors,
national panels. Road drivers sit I’m sitting home wondering how
at home while subcontractors to pay the bills. We desperately
pull our loads...and Hoffa and need a new Teamster leadership
Hall fiddle while Rome burns to help us take on the bully on
down around our ears.” the playground—UPS Freight
management—and give us a fair fight.”
George Stokes, Local 81, Portland, Ore.
Brandon Curcio, Local 509, Gaffney, S.C.

Hoffa Administration
Hides 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
United Airlines Mechanics Contract Rally don’t do anything. Are they hoping the members will tire of the wait
9000 Teamster mechanics at United Airlines have voted to and vote for concessions? Carhaul Teamsters are too united to let that
authorize a strike if necessary to stop concessions and win happen!
an industry-leading contract. “The automotive Industry is hav-
In February the mechanics sent a contracting—as United makes ing record sales and record profits.
unified message to the corporation record profits. And the carriers are cashing in.
with a 93% strike vote, after the The mechanics have rallied in We need a fair share of the pros-
company tried to sell the deal. The multiple cities with the support of
union has asked the National United’s flight attendants, pilots
perity too—improved contract lan-
Mediation Board for a release to and community leaders. Solidarity guage, benefits and wages. Our
move toward a strike, as required by is strong from the bargaining com- 85% rejection showed solid
the Railway Labor Act. mittee and the ranks, including for- unity—now we need a leadership
It’s going to be a hot summer for mer Continental and United work-
that’s ready to help us win what’s
United Airlines, if management ers.
refuses to bargain seriously. Their A victory for United’s mechanics ours.”
bogus “final offer” contained two- is a victory for all airline workers James Stricker, Cassens
tier wages, health care cuts, and and all Teamsters.
inadequate job protection from sub-
Local 299, Detroit

Why Hoffa Can’t Kick Corruption Habit
Western Region power broker Rome Aloise has been hit with corruption
charges that even Hoffa and Hall cannot protect him from.
On February 10, International Vice President Rome
Aloise—Hoffa’s chief operative in the West—was hit
with 122 pages of corruption charges by the
Independent Review Board, involving almost every
conceivable labor crime, including:
l racketeering
l requesting things of value from employers during
negotiations
l taking employers’ gifts, including admissions to
Playboy’s Super Bowl Party for Hoffa’s Executive
assistant and his friends
l trying to leverage jobs for his relatives from
employers, including UPS, Costco and others dur-
ing labor negotiations
l negotiating a sham collective bargaining agreement
l using union resources to punish political opponents
and prevent a fair Teamster election
Hoffa has not stepped away from Aloise—quite the
opposite. 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
Hoffa-Aloise Corruption Connection
Hoffa’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.
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.”
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.
TEAMSTER VOICE SPRING 2016 — 5
Rome Didn’t Fall in a Day
The 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 Charged with racketeering, taking employer gifts and
dues for his campaign and then lying to the Election other corruption violations, Aloise brags about Hoffa-
Officer to cover it up.4 Hall’s continued support.
Why Hoffa Can’t Kick they elected a reformer who challenged the union’s
the Corruption Habit power structure.
Hoffa came into office 17 years ago promising to Teamster power brokers chose Hoffa, a lawyer with
run a clean, democratic union. But time and again, the most famous last name in labor, as their front man
Hoffa has covered for corruption in his own ranks. The to take the International Union back.
Aloise scandal is only the latest example. (See Hoffa Hoffa is beholden to that devil’s pact two decades
Can’t Kick the Corruption Habit, pages 6-7). later. Hoffa will never act against corruption when it
When he was first elected, Hoffa hired an anti-cor- implicates one of the power brokers that keeps him in
ruption czar: Edwin Stier, a respected former federal office. And that’s why Hoffa can never kick the
prosecutor. corruption habit.
But when Stier’s inquiries into corruption and
1Independent Review Board report of Charges on Rome
organized crime influence got too close to Hoffa’s top
ally in Chicago, John Coli, Hoffa shut down the Aloise, February 10, 2016.
22000 EAD 57 December 6, 2000, Office of Election
investigation.
Supervisor
Stier resigned in disgust, writing that when it comes 32011 ESD 286 June 28. 2011, Office of Election
to cleaning up corruption: “The problem is Hoffa.” Supervisor
When members won the right to elect our 42006 ESD 341 August 23, 2006, Office of Election
International Union leaders for the first time in 1991, Supervisor
The Golfing Buddy
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.
Illegal Employer Gifts
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.
The Hatchet Man
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.
6 — TEAMSTER VOICE SPRING 2016

Hoffa Can’t K
the Corrupt
Corruption Czar:
“The Problem is Hoffa”
Former federal prosecutor Ed Stier was hired
John Coli
by Hoffa in 1999 to direct the Project Rise
anti-corruption task force. Stier resigned in
s to
disgust five years later, saying when it come
: “The problem is Hoffa.”1
rooting out corruption Hoffa and Ed Stier

1 Bribes & Payoffs

The Hoffa campaign, along with Ken Hall, Rome Aloise
and Tyson Johnson, were found guilty by the Election
3 Corruption Cover-Up
John 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
Supervisor of attempting
his brother was removed by the IRB. Coli’s father was a
to bribe Teamster leaders out of
member of the mafia, according to Edwin Stier the former
running against them in the last
federal prosecutor Hoffa hired as an anti-corruption czar. Stier resigned after
election by offering them lucrative
Coli used his influence with Hoffa to shut down Stier’s investigations
positions on the International Union
into organized crime influence in the Chicago Teamsters. Stier wrote to the
payroll. To their credit, Fred
IBT General Counsel that “efforts to shut down our investigation were the
Zuckerman, Henry Perry and Frank
result of pressure from Chicago-area Teamsters who in turn were acting at
Gallegos turned down the bribes.2
the instigation of racketeers.”4 Hoffa shut down the investigation. Coli joined
the Hoffa-Hall state, and has become a top Hoffa advisor.
Hoffa Corruption Slate

Family Business
2 Cashing In While Central
States Pensions Burned
Bill Lichtenwald’s close friendship with
4
The Teamsters Union has been a lucrative family business
for the Coli family. Together, Coli, his son, and his
brother make over $859,000 a
year from our union. A fourth
Coli, Joseph, was hired to be the
Coli’s Kid

Hoffa has paid off—literally. Lichtenwald exclusive provider of legal services

collected multiple union salaries, pensions as a local
officer, the President of the Ohio Conference of
Teamsters and a trustee of the Central States Pension
Plan. Last September a 59-page IRB report exposed Hoffa and Lichtenwald
that the Ohio Conference exists for the purpose of
paying extra salaries. Lichtenwald has resigned from the Central States
Pension Fund under pressure from the US Department of Labor. To date,
Hoffa has made no move to abolish the Ohio Conference.3
by the Local 727 Legal Assistance Plan.
The baby-faced Coli was two months out of law school
at the time of his hire and was paid $2 million in his
first 14 months on the job—nearly twice as much as
the previous firm charged.5
 TEAMSTER VOICE SPRING 2016 — 7

t Kick
ption Habit
Violence & Extortion
5 The Tough Guy
International Vice president Sean O’Brien was suspended from
union 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 reform
7 When Boston Local 82
members organized to
unseat Hoffa’s National
Trade Show Division Director
John Perry in his home local,
leaders anyway. Hoffa kept O’Brien on the Hoffa-Hall slate and gave him a Perry brought in professional muscle. His
promotion—putting O’Brien in charge of negotiating the supplements to the enforcer Joseph “Jo Jo” Burhoe smashed
UPS national contract in 2013. When members rejected 18 of them, O’Brien the face of one opposition supporter
and Ken Hall launched a nationwide campaign to sell the concessions. UPS with a brick and unleashed a reign of
Teamsters in three of the terror on members who repeatedly wrote
Sean O’brien
supplements refused to cave in. to Hoffa to ask for protection from
The Hoffa administration ratified blacklisting, threats and violence.8 John Murphy and JoJo Burhoe
them anyway and imposed the
concessions—even though the After Perry sent a letter to a Local 82 member threatening him with
members had Voted No three times! being “put in a trunk of a car, having your ribs broken and being
O’Brien’s tough guy routine is hospitalized” Hoffa sent a letter back saying: “The International Union
reserved for the members; does not have agents in the Boston area to provide protection to you or your
employers get a pass. family and does not have the capacity to investigate all of your numerous
complaints.” In fact, Hoffa did have agents in the area: namely John Perry,
the official behind the violence, and International Union Vice President John
Murphy who’s pictured here with Burhoe. Perry would still be in office—the

6
Hoffa administration held a hearing and found him innocent. The IRB

Hoffa’s Concessions Tycoon banned him from the Teamsters in 2011 and Perry was sentenced to
federal prison for racketeering. Burhoe got a five-year sentence for his
crimes, including extortion.9
Over 25,000 freight Teamsters at
YRC suffered wage and pension
cuts since 2009, but their loss

8
delivered big gains for one Hoffa
appointee. Harry Wilson, a hedge fund tycoon
appointed by Hoffa to the YRCW board, was
paid a $5 million bonus when employees
Sweetheart Deals
Hoffa’s original running
approved the concessions and a bank deal mate Bill Hogan, Jr. was
was consummated. YRCW paid Wilson banned from our union
$125,000 a month retainer and a $1.5 by the IRB after he was caught
million bonus for his work on the company’s engineering a sweetheart deal with
restructuring and concessions package—plus Harry Wilson a nonunion temp agency to undercut
a $175,000 a year salary as Hoffa’s appointee Teamster convention workers. The
to YRCW’s board. The $5 million concession scheme would have slashed wages
bonus was icing on the cake.7 to $8 and eliminated all benefits.10

Hoffa and Bill Hogan, Jr.

CHECK THE FACTS
1. April 21, 2004 resignation letter of Edwin Stier. Also see “Teamster 5. “Family Biz Pays Off for Joseph Coli” Sun-Times, September 5, 9. Indictment of John Perry and JoJo Burhoe, September 13, 2012
Crime Watchdog Quits; Hints Union is Corrupt”, Oakland Press, May 2015 and “Two former Boston Teamsters are Sentenced in Extortion
1 2004. 6. Independent Review Board report on Charge Against International Case”, April 20, 2015
2.2011 ESD 73, January 20, 2011. VP Sean O’Brien, October 17, 2013. 10. Independent Review Board Decision barring Billy Hogan and
3. Independent Review Board report on the Ohio Conference of 7. “YRC refinances $1.15 billion by closing on two 5-year loans”, DC Dane Passo, May 20, 2002 and decision of Judge Loretta Preska,
Teamsters, September 25, 2015. Velocity Feb. 14, 2014. See also SEC filing by YRC, Feb. 7, 2014. August 22, 2003.
4. Ed Stier, Report on Organized Crime Influence in the Teamsters , 8. Independent Review Board report on Charges against John Perry
May 2004. and JoJo Burhoe, September 29, 2010 All documents available at www.TDU.org
8 — TEAMSTER VOICE SPRING 2016

UPS Eyes Pension Cuts & Pension Fund Pullouts

Thousands of UPS Teamsters and retirees are
being threatened with massive pension cuts under The attack on UPS Teamster pensions goes beyond Central States.
a new pension law.
Much of the attention has been on the Central
UPS has made a priority of cutting costs by 2012, by going into a “hybrid” arm of the New
States where over 400,000 Teamsters and retirees
reducing its liabilities for our retirement securi- England Fund at a lower rate with a 10-year
will lose half or more of their monthly pension—
ty—from our pensions to retiree healthcare. freeze on benefits.
including 8,737 UPS retirees.
UPS has made no secret of its desire to get out Like most corporations, UPS’s ultimate goal is
But the threat to UPS pensions goes beyond
of Teamster pension plans as part of that strategy. to eliminate union pensions altogether and replace
Central States.
The company already pulled out of Central them with 401ks.
Thirty-five thousand Teamsters and retirees in
States—effectively sinking the fund. Fifty thou- UPS signed a letter-of-agreement that it would
New York State were put on notice in February
sand Teamsters are now covered by a company not move to withdraw from Teamster plans. But
that their pensions will be cut, including UPSers
plan and have the lowest pension benefits of any that agreement expires in 2018 when the next
in Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and
UPS Teamsters in the country. contract is negotiated.
across Upstate New York.
Brown also pulled out of the New England Corporate America is coming after pensions.
You can bet UPS will be looking for opportuni-
Teamsters & Trucking Industry Pension Fund in UPS Teamsters need to watch their wallets.
ties to turn the pension crisis to their advantage.

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 next
contract is negotiated by leaders that will stand up to UPS.”
Joan-Elaine Miller, Local 623, Package Driver

UPS’s Facebook Faceplant

Brown is forced to revise its illegal Social Media Policy.
When UPS claimed the right to tions of its social media guidelines to
discipline Teamsters based on an ille- justify disciplinary action, the local
gal “Social Media Guidelines”, filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge.
Hoffa-Hall gave management a pass. Brown backed down. The compa-
But Teamster action by a local union ny was forced to post a notice that
has forced UPS to make a U-turn. members’ labor rights would be
As Facebook and Twitter took off, respected and that UPS would
UPS issued employee “Social Media rescind Social Media Guidelines that
Guidelines” governing everything “improperly restrict employees’ pro-
from online chat rooms and forums to tected right to discuss wage, hours
blogs, and Facebook. and working conditions with others.”
Management warned that UPS has now issued new guide-
“Activities that violate the standards lines, including deleting language
outlined in these guidelines can lead that allowed the company to disci-
to disciplinary action, including job pline workers for criticizing man-
termination.” agers or supervisors by banning
TDU pointed out that, “Brown’s “offensive posts that could harm
guidelines banned virtually any someone’s reputation.”
online speech on union or workplace The stand made by Local 251
issues and clearly violate the strengthens the protections of all UPS
National Labor Relations Act.” Teamsters. But that doesn’t mean
The International Union had the members can post anything they want
right to bargain with UPS over the about UPS without consequences.
policy. But they never did. And sure You can be legally disciplined in
enough, the company took advan- some cases for what you post, even if
tage. Management disciplined mem- it’s on your own time and on your
bers in multiple local unions for vio- personal Facebook page.
lating its social media guidelines. What are your rights? What are the
Rhode Island Local 251 stepped limits? And what are some do’s and
up. When the company cited viola- don’ts?
Protected Posts
Under 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 Line
Here are some missteps that could
still 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 Post
Use 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.
 TEAMSTER VOICE SPRING 2016 — 9

TEAMSTER ELECTION 2016

Teamsters United volunteers are organizing in their locals
and gearing up for the Teamster Convention in June where
Fred Zuckerman and Teamsters United candidates will be
nominated to run against the Hoffa-Hall slate this fall.
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 three
delegate 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.
What’s At Stake
at 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 the
Constitution and imposed concessionary contracts that had
been rejected by the members. Convention Delegates can
vote on Constitutional changes.
Concessions & Pension Cuts: Convention delegates will
debate Teamster policies—and how to reverse Hoffa-Hall’s
failures to negotiate good contracts, protect our pensions and
healthcare, and organize the nonunion competition.
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.”

Building the Teamsters United Campaign

Teamsters will vote for new International Union leadership this fall. Get involved in the Teamsters United
campaign to elect General President Fred Zuckerman and the Teamsters United slate.
Gate with a Organize a Local
Candidate to Spread Network
the Word “Five years ago we only had
one delegate running and this
“We brought Fred Zuckerman
time we have a full slate of
to Cincinnati and took him to
11 for Teamsters United. The
Teamster barns to meet mem-
movement to get rid of Hoffa
bers. Everyone who stopped to
is growing and we’re going
greet and talk to Fred walked
to keep campaigning and
away feeling better about being a Teamster. When a candidate comes
building momentum to finally get rid of him for good this fall!”
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 - Phil Richards, Local 630, Los Angeles
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 Wear Campaign Gear

“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
“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
10 — TEAMSTER VOICE SPRING 2016
PENSION CRISIS TIMELINE
Hoffa promised a “Real 25 & Out” Pension to every Teamster. Instead, he’s overseen the worst pension crisis
in Teamster history. Over 400,000 Teamsters face pension cuts. The pension crisis timeline reveals how we
got here. The Save Our Pensions movement points the way forward.
2000: Hoffa comes into office
with 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 CSPF
documents 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, Ken
Hall 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 launches
a series of concessions with YRC, the
CSPF’s largest participating employer.
Supposedly pension contributions would
snap-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 Not
Bailouts.” 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 Las
Vegas 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 Teamsters
lose. 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, concerned
about 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 Pension
Reform 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.”

Fighting for Pensions & the
American Dream
On April 14, Teamsters will rally in Washington to tell
political leaders to Save Our Pensions. They are fighting
not just for Teamster retirees, but for the pensions of
millions of Americans.
Union 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 Promises
Act (KOPPA) and other reforms to save the pen-
sions earned by a lifetime of hard work by millions
of 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
The Corporate Attack on Pensions
What’s at Stake, How to Win.
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.
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 across
the 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
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.
TEAMSTER VOICE SPRING 2016 — 11
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. to
1 p.m. at the grounds of the Capitol Building.
Announced speakers include Congresswoman
Marcy 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.
Pension
Movement
Speaks Out at
U.S. Senate
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 American
values, of keeping promises to this nation’s
retirees. We are Republicans and
Democrats and Independents. We live in
your states. We are your constituents. We
worked hard our whole lives and did every-
thing right so we could have a comfortable
retirement. Not an extravagant retirement;
we just wanted to have enough income to
live our sunset years with dignity and inde-
pendence, to pitch in to help our kids and
grandkids.”
“[Butch] fought to right this injustice by
working with 50 retirees’ committees across
the country, all organized to stop the cuts.
As he said, this was a war just like he had
fought in Vietnam, and the cuts being forced
on retirees are a “war against the middle
class and American values.”
2016 TDU CONVENTION
Sept. 30 - Oct. 2 u Chicago

Confirmed Guest Presenter: Robert Schwartz

Robert 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

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 from
across 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

SAVE THE DATE! The Convention is early this year—a couple weeks before the ballots in the IBT
election 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.