After Electing New Leadership, the Possibilities for the Teamsters Are Enormous - Jacobin
With the victory of a coalition of reformers in the Teamsters, the union has enormous potential to organize Amazon, rebuild strength at shop floors throughout North America, and perhaps even go on strike against UPS.
Big changes are afoot in one of the largest labor unions in North America. Last November, following a three-year campaign, the Teamsters United (TU) slate led by Sean O’Brien defeated the Teamster Power (TP) slate led by Steve Vairma by a two-to-one margin in the election to determine the top leadership of the 1.3-million-member International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT).
Vairma, head of Denver Local 455, had received the endorsement of outgoing incumbent James P. Hoffa, who did not seek reelection after twenty-three years in office. O’Brien, head of Boston Local 25, had the backing of Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU), the rank-and-file reform movement in the Teamsters.
Although the election was not widely reported, even in a year when workers and their unions managed to make some headlines, it could be one of the most consequential events in recent years for shaping the future of the US labor movement. With members located throughout the transportation and logistics sector, Teamsters can exert power all along the supply chain.
With the victory of a coalition of reformers in the Teamsters, the union has enormous potential to organize Amazon, rebuild strength at shop floors throughout North America, and perhaps even go on strike against UPS.
Big changes are afoot in one of the largest labor unions in North America. Last November, following a three-year campaign, the Teamsters United (TU) slate led by Sean O’Brien defeated the Teamster Power (TP) slate led by Steve Vairma by a two-to-one margin in the election to determine the top leadership of the 1.3-million-member International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT).
Vairma, head of Denver Local 455, had received the endorsement of outgoing incumbent James P. Hoffa, who did not seek reelection after twenty-three years in office. O’Brien, head of Boston Local 25, had the backing of Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU), the rank-and-file reform movement in the Teamsters.
Although the election was not widely reported, even in a year when workers and their unions managed to make some headlines, it could be one of the most consequential events in recent years for shaping the future of the US labor movement. With members located throughout the transportation and logistics sector, Teamsters can exert power all along the supply chain.