IBT: "Stewards are the backbone of the Teamsters — and the first line of defense."

[jm481]

This is a fairly standard social media ad from IBT. I assume all these posts are made by BerlinRosen, the PR firm hired by IBT:

https://fxtwitter.com/Teamsters/status/1845860129855492255

I wanted to point out the actual role of stewards in an IBT local - 570 in Baltimore. The main selling point of being a steward presented to us, grocery workers negotiating a first contract, was that stewards would have their dues refunded at the end of the year provided they attended all the local's monthly meetings. In negotiations, the Teamsters told the company that if they ever see an "activist" steward, they "nip it in the bud". It was clear to me that the only role of the steward was to be the informant at the workplace for the local.

The Teamsters were not a good fit at my workplace trying to get a first contract because of how conciliatory they were to the company. I think this is a problem across the IBT. What we see now from IBT is entirely a PR phenomenon - the actual contracts are terrible, and there is no fight against the company - it's all advertising. Worker activism - including having real stewards who are accountable to the people at work and not to the local - is the only way to get good contracts.

[Gimme_Danger]

Speak for your own experience. There is plenty of worker activism, plenty of fight, for contracts being negotiated. In some cases, being struck for. As a bottom up organization, Teamster Locals are always key to being at the forefront of the fight. Stewards in many Locals are elected by the members they represent. All Local Executive Board members are elected. If members don't like their leadership, there is an opportunity to run for Local office every three years.

[jm481]

Come on, IBT is the most prominent top-down union in U.S. history. Sean O'Brien said in 2021 the IBT organizing department doesn't organize, it monitors internal dissidents. Workers are threatened with strikes if they vote no in contract votes. Locals can be trusteed when they don't agree to company friendly contracts. Bargaining is closed and secret. This all has to change to mean something to workers, and they have to fight local leadership as much as the company to advocate for themselves. That was my experience and I know it is no different than countless others at a Teamsters local.

[David Brad Bishop]

This is a fairly standard social media ad from IBT. I assume all these posts are made by BerlinRosen, the PR firm hired by IBT:

https://fxtwitter.com/Teamsters/status/1845860129855492255

I wanted to point out the actual role of stewards in an IBT local - 570 in Baltimore. The main selling point of being a steward presented to us, grocery workers negotiating a first contract, was that stewards would have their dues refunded at the end of the year provided they attended all the local's monthly meetings. In negotiations, the Teamsters told the company that if they ever see an "activist" steward, they "nip it in the bud". It was clear to me that the only role of the steward was to be the informant at the workplace for the local.

The Teamsters were not a good fit at my workplace trying to get a first contract because of how conciliatory they were to the company. I think this is a problem across the IBT. What we see now from IBT is entirely a PR phenomenon - the actual contracts are terrible, and there is no fight against the company - it's all advertising. Worker activism - including having real stewards who are accountable to the people at work and not to the local - is the only way to get good contracts.

I'm sorry that was your experience, but there are 400+ Teamster locals, and you can't rightfully generalize all locals based on your experience at (presumably) one local in Baltimore. There are absolutely locals that fight for the best contracts, that train stewards to be active and engaged and generally kick ass, but unfortunately there are some like 570...that won't do that and don't kick ass. The good thing about the Teamsters today is that if you don't like the leadership, you can organize and vote them out. Sadly, it's that very ability to vote them out that drives a lot of these crummy local leadres to "nip" activitsts in the bud. They fear anyone who might develop a following and run against them, so they won't mobilize their membership, they won't organize them, they won't engage them. The best leaders understand that if you DO engage members and DO fight for them, they WILL keep you in office.

[jm481]

I followed the 2023 UPS campaign closely - the tactics used against workers who were voting No were the same I saw in person. To say an individual worker can't speak about anything other than their own experience is a talking point to shut down conversation, it's also used often by union leadership in contract votes, and I heard it often in bargaining from 570.