[Re-posted from Teamsters United]
As the ballots were tallied this week, we shocked the employers and the Hoffa-Hall slate and won the majority of the vote from Teamsters in the United States. Hoffa-Hall overtook our lead when the Teamsters Canada ballots were counted.
Fred Zuckerman has won the majority of the vote cast by Teamsters in the U.S. The votes from Teamsters Canada are now being counted and they will determine the election. Follow the local-by-local returns from Teamsters Canada as the race comes down to the wire.
Fred Zuckerman has overtaken Hoffa based on the overwhelming win in the Central Region where Teamsters United won with over 58% of the vote. The vote count has resumed and the ballots are being counted in the Western Region. Follow local-by-local results for the West here. Over 50,000 ballots remain to be counted. This race is a nail-biter and we have a long way to go.
Employers play divide and conquer to keep workers from uniting and having more power. Some Hoffa-Hall officials play divide-and-conquer too. This weekend it was Teamsters Canada’s Francois Laporte’s turn when he tried to pit Canadian and U.S. Teamsters against each other.
When Hoffa-Hall’s top lieutenant in the West Rome Aloise was charged with racketeering, they used members’ dues money to cover up the corruption, obstruct investigators and crack down on members’ right to vote. Now, the results of the International Union election may hang in the balance.
Hoffa-Hall tried to steal the election in the South before it happened. They even rigged elections to get their way. How grassroots organizing saved the right to vote and paved the way for the Teamsters United victory in the South.
Teamsters United has cruised to victory in the Southern Region. Congratulations to newly-elected Southern Region VPs John Palmer and Kim Schultz. See Southern local-by-local results here. The vote count has resumed and Central Region results are being tallied now.
Teamster ballots will be counted this week. As General President Fred Zuckerman will build union power the same way Teamsters United built its campaign: by informing, uniting and mobilizing members. Hoffa-Hall want Teamsters in the dark and toeing the line. That’s why our union is weak and voter turnout is low—and that’s why Hoffa-Hall have to go.
Corruption investigators noted Ken Hall’s “unusual tolerance” for repeated embezzlement by the Teamsters Political Director Nicole Brener-Schmitz. Now she faces corruption charges and Ken Hall faces questions about why he let it happen.