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History

Ann_and_Dianna_copy.jpgHow the Reform Movement Has Changed the Teamsters Union (1976-1979)
In 1976 the Teamsters Union was in big trouble. Union leaders had allowed organized crime to infiltrate the highest levels of the union. Read More


presser_0.jpgWinning the Fight for Democracy (The 1980s)
The 1980s were a difficult time for working Teamsters. They were years of economic recession, freight industry deregulation, and concessionary bargaining. Read More


img032.jpgRebuilding Teamster Power (1991-1997)
Rank-and-file Teamsters won the right to vote for top Teamster officers after a decade-long fight led by TDU. In the 1990s members used that right to elect new leaders and change our union’s direction. Read More


history_graphic_-_1998-2001.jpgThe Fight to Save Our Union (1998-)
After the UPS strike victory in 1997, the Teamsters stood at the forefront of the American labor movement. But there were tough times ahead. The coming years would see Ron Carey’s reform efforts as IBT President ended and the restoration of old-guard leadership at the IBT. Read More

Related Articles

Teamsters & The Right to Vote

September 25, 2014
September 25, 2014: Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in 1975 and the Teamster leadership, already heavily penetrated by the mob, became more and more a tool of employers.   In response, members started to demand the Right to Vote on International officers. Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) took up the challenge, and in 1989 Teamster members beat the mob and won the Right to Vote in International Union elections.   How did a grassroots movement of working Teamster beat the odds and make history? First, we...

Doug Mims: A Teamster with Guts and Principles

May 15, 2014
May 15, 2014: We lost a good friend yesterday, when Doug Mims passed away in Atlanta at the age of 75.  Doug had been sick for quite some time. Doug was a tireless activist and a leader of the TDU movement and of the Teamsters Union. Doug started his union activity when he was a road driver in South Carolina. Later he transferred to Atlanta Local 728, where he joined TDU in 1984 and helped...

Remembering Pioneers of Teamster Reform

April 01, 2014
April 8, 2014: Three Teamsters who helped blaze the trail for Teamster reform have passed away. They had vision, courage and determination and put solidarity ahead of self-advancement. They, and Teamsters like them, built Teamsters for a Democratic Union. It’s up to us to carry on their legacy of organizing Teamster-to-Teamster to build a powerful, democratic union. Steve Kindred 1944 - 2013Founding TDU Member and Hell-raiser Steve was a founder of TDU in 1976 and...

A History of TDU

September 23, 2013
In 2005, the Journal of Transportation Law, Logistics and Policy published an authoritative essay by law professor Michael J. Goldberg, entitled Teamster Reformers: Their Union, Their Jobs, Their Movement.

Happy Birthday: TDU Turns 37

September 19, 2013
September 19, 2013: On this weekend in 1976, a small group of courageous Teamsters met in Kent, Ohio, to form Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU). They had little going for them except guts, principles, and a vision of a union driven by rank and file power. At the time of TDU's founding, the IBT General Executive Board and many local unions were dominated by organized crime. Contracts could be imposed even if the majority...
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Recent News

Employers ‘Relieved’ by Hoffa Win

November 23, 2016

The Journal of Commerce reports that “employer that have dealt with Hoffa” are “relieved” by Hoffa’s election win because of his record for negotiating “deals involving wage and benefit concessions.”

Employers Fear ‘Fewer Concessions Ahead’

November 23, 2016

The headline says it all, “Hoffa Retains Teamsters Union Presidency — Fewer Concessions Ahead?” The National Law Review reports the near-win for Fred Zuckerman in the Teamster election may put Hoffa-Hall under pressure to cough up fewer contract givebacks in the future.

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