Teamsters for a Democratic Union? New Politics

[OT+]

[WTF891]

This is a great read, he nails the evolution of TDU into becoming O'Brien's jailhouse punk.

[Watcher745]

This is a real honest assessment of the present state of what TDU has become. Unfortunately the newest members have no idea of what the organization used to be.

[Bob Randall]

Look...I'm not going to sit here and argue against the article. It's a good read. Excepting laying the blame on TDU for the Fearless Slate's failure to gather the required percentage of signatures. That is just overreaching criticism. That blame lies on Richard due to an apparent lack of necessary skill and activity to pull it off. I am going to present my question to those that repeatedly criticize TDU for becoming what it has become. This is a genuine question. Not a criticism of the opposition to what TDU "has become". Though, let me preface. In my mind, the alliance with O'Brien is indefensible due to the organization's complicity. Although, I do believe that TDU plays a valuable role in membership involvement. Much better than the IBT's education department ever has. That said, the market for an organization such as the one that TDU once was does not exist any longer. The landscape has changed greatly. Mob control is a thing of the past as a result the oversight. Elections, as well as some practices of the union, are still overseen. Corruption is not the ugly snake (as Brother Carey termed it) as it once was. (Although any level at all is too much.) For these reasons and others there is just not a rank-and-file market for the TDU that once was. The one exception could possibly be a movement from within the UPS part timers. Now, my question. What role could/should the "old" TDU effectively play in the current environment? (Assuming that I am correct with my opinion of the "market".) I honestly don't understand what critics are looking for.

[AlJackson1962!]

Bob: Please clarify what you're referring to when you write: "In my mind, the alliance with O'Brien is indefensible due to the organization's complicity."

I agree the article is a good read. From my view the most compelling paragraph in that above New Politics article reads as follows:

"The membership structure of TDU has been effectively killed: there are no longer TDU branches where activists meet to formulate plans. “Democracy” is limited to the annual TDU “Convention” where a slate of candidates for the “International Executive Board” (who have been picked in advance) are approved by the “members”—membership, too, has come to mean anyone who pays their annual $50 fee to TDU. The International Executive Board has been made up primarily of Local officers or IBT staff, many of whom have won their positions with TDU’s support. How this developed in the years since the events in TRAF is beyond the scope of this review, but Friedman was attentive to these possibilities even before the Ron Carey administration (1991–97)."

In addition to Mike Freidman's 1982 recognition of where TDU might be headed, former and now deceased Teamster Brother and friend, Dave Wolfinsohn, wrote an April 1980 article in Against the Current regarding the electoral focus vs. a primary focus on building rank and file power. Dave Wolfinsohn's article explained the then recent history in our Boston TDU chapter; we backed and campaigned for Local 42 Beacon Freight driver Frank Salemme; Salemme won, and then Salemme abandoned TDU.

Lots more to the subject matter for discussion, but that's my immediate reaction.

[Bob Randall]

Yeah. That paragraph really hit home. I'll express myself better regarding to your request for clarification. Understood. Making homemade sauce right now. Yummm....

[Magruder]

I agree with both of you, that paragraph sums up the death of any meaningful membership structure. At the same time the lack of any organized alternative makes national elections less likely but not impossible.