Teamsters Convention

["Charles Brown" <CharlesB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Teamsters Enter New Era With 26th Convention (Jul. 9, 2001)
By Greg Tarpinian


from ECONOMIC NOTES

Putting the debacle of its divided 1996 Convention and scandal-plagued 1996 election behind it, the Teamsters union at its 26th International Convention, held June 25-29 in Las Vegas, adopted some of the most sweeping constitutional reforms of any union in the U.S. labor movement.

First and foremost, was the overwhelming approval of a constitutional amendment enshrining the direct election of delegates to the International Convention and direct election of International officers. Perhaps of equal importance was a "Canadian Unity Amendment" creating sovereignty for Teamsters Canada.

The Convention was marked by the most democratic display of any union convention in the American labor movement. While General President James P. Hoffa controlled more than 90% of the delegates, he allowed his opponents to have the floor at least 50% of the time. While sharp disagreements occurred, the Convention was overwhelmingly united, as seen in the unanimous passage of the following resolutions, among others:

2002 UPS Contract Campaign
Organizing the Unorganized
Solidarity and Unity for Strong Contracts
2003 Freight Contract Campaign
Navy Out of Vieques
Basic Vegetable Strike
Overnite Campaign
Anheuser-Busch
Diamond Walnut Strike
The Teamsters took a big step in the critical area of restoring the union's financial viability with passage of a resolution establishing a Blue Ribbon Finance Commission.

Another historic moment came in the adoption of a unity agreement between the International Longshoreman's Association (East Coast), the International Longshoremen's and Warehouse Workers Union (West Coast), and the Teamsters in a joint effort to organize the nation's ports. For their part, the Teamsters are focusing on the organization of port drivers. The President's of the ILWU and ILA addressed the convention.

The Convention also saw the nomination of candidates for International Office. In the contest for General President, Hoffa received the votes of 92% of the delegates compared to 8% of the delegates for his opponent Tom Leedham. The two will square off in an election this fall.

ECONOMIC NOTES

NEWS AND ANALYSIS FROM THE LABOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATION

http://www.LaborResearch.org

July 9, 2001

Labor Strategies
Teamsters Enter New Era With 26th Convention (Jul. 9, 2001)
Putting the debacle of its divided 1996 Convention and scandal plagued
1996 election behind it, the Teamsters union at its 26th International
Convention held Jun 25-29 in Las Vegas adopted some of the most sweeping
constitutional reforms of any union in the U.S. labor movement, according
to LRA Executive Director Greg Tarpinian.

http://laborresearch.org/dis.shtml?ibtconv.txt

Health Care Trends
Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits Declining Sharply in the U.S., Study
Shows (July 3, 2001)
Barely half of the American workforce is covered by employer-sponsored
health care plansóand that number is dwindling fast, according to the
Center for National Policy (CNP). In a recent report, "The Impacts of
Labor Market Trends on Health Care Coverage," the CNP found that the
proportion of American workers receiving employer-provided health care
coverage shrank from 66% to 54% between the years 1979 and 1998.

http://laborresearch.org/dis.shtml?decline.txt

Labor Strategies
Declaring 'Whatever It Takes,' Health Care Union Fights On for Workers'
Rights at Lawrence Hospital (July 3, 2001)
The streets of Bronxville, New York, were once again filled with purple
and gold on June 30 as thousand of members of 1199 SEIU demonstrated for a
fair union election at Lawrence Hospital.

http://laborresearch.org/dis.shtml?1199lawrence.txt

Labor Strategies
Labor Stands United Against Union Busting at Verizon (Jun. 27, 2001)
Thousands of workers poured into midtown Manhattan on June 20 to inform
Verizon telecommunications that its anti-union antics will not be
tolerated. The rallyówhich drew broad support from unions around the New
York areaówas organized by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in
response to Verizon's reneging on a neutrality agreement it signed last
summer.


http://laborresearch.org/dis.shtml?verizon_rally.txt

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