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Local and National News
Dear Fellow Teamster…
Feb. 27, 2020 | After announcing last week that he would not seek re-election in 2022, General President Jim Hoffa posted a letter to his Facebook page. Addressing all Teamster members, Hoffa wrote: “There can be no greater honor than serving as General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Everyday since you first elected me 21 years ago I have worked hard to earn the trust and support of you, the members I serve. Working together we have accomplished many great things for our beloved Teamsters Union. When I was first elected I promised to… 888 NewsGeneral President Jim Hoffa won’t seek re-election in 2022
Feb. 24, 2020 | James P. Hoffa on Friday signaled the end of an era for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, telling The Detroit News he will not seek re-election just as the labor union this week makes a historic exit from government oversight. "I think it's time for the next generation to take over," the 78-year-old labor leader said. "We rebuilt this union. We've rebuilt our finances. We rebuilt the spirit. We put the swagger back in the union. ... I'm very proud of what we have done, but I also realize maybe it's time for the next generation to take over." Hoffa, the second-longest serving Teamsters president, will leave behind a complex legacy when he steps down in March 2022 after 23 years, experts said. The Detroit native now says he feels confident in the finances, unity and momentum of one of the country's largest unions — and its restored integrity… Detroit NewsBlack History Month means more to the Teamsters
Feb. 14, 2020 | For the Teamsters Union, black history isn’t just an add on to our story or a recognition of advancements. It is part of the core of our history. Black and white Teamsters rallied together after the Civil War to improve conditions, starting the first independent team driver locals. Black teamsters (and women teamsters for that matter) were part of the original conventions forming the Team Drivers International Union in 1898 and its spin-off The National Teamsters Union in 1902. T.A. Stowers (second from left in photo), a black delegate from Chicago was a leading voice at the 1903 convention to create the Teamsters Union as we know it today. He helped write the union’s constitution, yet few have heard of him. Stowers was the force behind adopting a creed vastly different from other unions, allowing members of any race, creed, gender or religion into the Teamsters. That’s a mainstay of our history and should be remembered… NJ TodayDeadline fast approaching for this year’s Hoffa Memorial Scholarship
Feb. 13, 2020 | The deadline for applying for an academic or vocational/training program scholarship from the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund is March 2. The college and vocational scholarship programs are available only for the sons, daughters and financial dependents of active and retired Teamsters. Visit the scholarship fund's website for information on who is eligible to apply and how to apply.Older news items can be viewed at 888 News.
Elsewhere in The News
Feb. 27, 2020 | HEALTH & SAFETY | One night in 2009, Madelaine Sattlefield lifted an 80-pound tray of letters carefully sorted by Missouri ZIP code. She had done this task thousands of times in nine years, but on this night, her arm seared with pain and went limp by her side. The tray crashed and sent envelopes cascading around her. She could barely move but immediately worried about what an injury might mean for her job. “Anxiety had kicked in. I was like, what are they going to say, what are they going to do?” Sattlefield said. Within months, the U.S. Postal Service fired her, one of about 44,000 employees who were either fired or left their jobs under pressure over five years in a program that “targeted” employees with work-related injuries, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A commission ruling on the class action complaint also found… ProPublica
Feb. 27, 2020 | BLACK HISTORY MONTH | Black leaders, activists, and organizers formed the backbone of the U.S. labor movement. Even when the forces of structural racism and segregation sought to stifle their contributions, their resolve to fight for workers’ rights alongside the cause of civil rights remained unshakable. Black women, in particular, have played an enormous role in the movement’s legacy and development. The Washerwomen of Jackson formed Mississippi’s first labor union in 1866. Lucy Parsons, the anarchist firebrand, cofounded three influential radical unions in 20th-century Chicago. More recently, United Auto Workers (UAW) organizer Sanchioni Butler battled Nissan in a years-long campaign to organize Southern auto-plant workers. Along with so many others, these Black women have long been the bedrock of a workers’ rights movement that has often tried to shut them out… TeenVogue.com
Feb. 24, 2020 | OPINION | Black History Month is traditionally a time to honor black Americans and, theoretically, accord them their proper place in American history. Every February we re-examine the exemplary lives of Harriet Tubman, Charles Drew, Frederick Douglass and those of lesser-known but truly significant leaders, artists, scientists, thinkers, and others. The occasion has always felt too narrow to me. We are eager to celebrate our favorite figures and their trailblazing achievements — Barack Obama is the latest — but less eager to examine the fact that their heroism was based more often than not in fighting an American system that fought — and still fights — against their status as full Americans… History News Network
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Feb. 20, 2020 | ECONOMY | […] Two factors likely are driving workers to stage walkouts en masse, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank whose research focuses on trends involving working people. Employees are well aware that if they lose their jobs for striking they're likely to find another quickly. And employees aren't getting the wage gains that a tight labor market normally brings. "[It's] people kind of looking around and saying, 'Oh my God, we're 10 years into this recovery. The unemployment rate is 3.6%. Why am I not seeing decent wage increases?'" said Heidi Shierholz, one of the authors of EPI's analysis and a former Department of Labor chief economist in the Obama administration… CNN Business Related: Some striking numbers
