Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) is a grassroots rank and file organization whose goal is to reform the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or Teamsters Union. The organization has chapters nationwide in the United States and Canada.
History TDU was started in Cleveland, Ohio, in the 1970s, as an alliance of socialists who had taken Teamster jobs and a layer of militant truck drivers who had been organizing against contract concessions, after the federal government exposed extensive corruption in the union, which included leadership raiding union-held pension funds, collusion with organized crime, and collusive collective bargaining between union officials and employers at the expense of union members.
TDU activists Dan La Botz Pete Camarata Thomas Geoghegan Paul Alan Levy, general counsel 1984–1999 Ken Paff Sandy Pope, 2011 candidate for IBT president
Endorsements In November 2019, TDU members voted to endorse the Teamsters United O'Brien/Zuckerman slate for International President and Secretary/Treasurer.
References
Further reading Rank-and-File Rebellion: Teamsters for a Democratic Union by Dan La Botz, Penguin Random House, 1992 Rebel Rank and File, Edited by Aaron Brenner, Robert Brenner, and Cal Winslow, Verso Books, 2010
External links Teamsters for a Democratic Union Homepage International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Homepage