The Long March of Teamster Reform

Pewter clouds hang heavy on a chilly Saturday afternoon as disgruntled Teamsters and union sympathizers file into URI-EICHEN Gallery on 21st Street. They’ve come to listen to National Organizer Ken Paff speak about the Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU), many of them roused by the growing cynicism invading the organized labor movement.

A new member starts off the meeting: “Working inside UPS, ya wonder if there’s a union at all,” he says. Many in the room nod in agreement. “We just can’t afford to be this apathetic.”

Benjamin Kline is a recent addition to the growing ranks of TDU, but he echoes the sentiment that pulls many traditional Teamsters into this reform movement.

TDU began in the late seventies as a response to the increase in organized crime within the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT)—the fourth largest union in the U.S. and the umbrella organization of TDU—and to a sense that union leadership was becoming increasingly apathetic to the interests of ordinary members. A self-described grassroots organization, their overarching mission is to reestablish Teamster power. And in recent decades, they have become among the most significant voices in intra-union politics, spearheading the landmark victory in the 1997 UPS contract disputes.

Such victories, though, have been few and fleeting.

“It’s no secret the labor movement is getting its ass kicked,” said Ken Paff, the guest of honor at the event, who spoke for about twenty minutes about TDU, the labor movement, and what’s in store for the future. “We got corrupt leadership in D.C., and the old guard protects its interests.”

Twenty or so people are crammed into the small gallery space. As they pass a wicker basket with donations, Paff tries to fire up the party solidarity he considers key to any success in the labor movement.

“Victories, big and small, are always the result of the rank-and-file,” he says. His voice is loud and passionate but sounds rehearsed; it’s the kind of stump speech that draws its force from the reaction of the audience, who today seem ready to be inspired by anything.

TDU draws its members from the same sources as the larger IBT: the truck and delivery drivers, food distribution personnel, and construction and warehouse workers whose blue collar labor can’t be outsourced. And in recent years, especially since the recession, these folks have taken hits in everything from paychecks to benefits and hours.

The most recent contractual dispute, once again with UPS, was a hot topic at Saturday’s event, and the less-than-optimal outcome of those disputes fired up the natural rebelliousness of those present. Many took issue with the IBT itself, whose personnel were in charge of handling those negotiations.

Paff used the moment to push for political consciousness in upcoming union elections. “We are a political party within the union, and in 2016 we get an election,” he reminded the group. “We want to change this, replace the leadership with militant, progressive leadership, put new direction into America’s strongest union.”

Audience members seemed optimistic about the chances for reform in those elections, but, as Paff acknowledges, “It’s only victory—and that means better pay, better benefits, better hours—that brings people to our side. All the hardship, that underdog feeling, that fighting the good fight, all that is baloney if you don’t deliver the goods. And we gotta start delivering again.”