Teamster 29th International Convention Day 3
An addition to the Day 2 report is needed. During the afternoon session of the convention the attendees were informed about the BNSF head-on collision that occurred earlier in the morning near Panhandle, Texas, by National President Pierce. Three of the crew members involved in the incident are BLET members. There was a moment of silence observed for the crew members. The announcement literally took the breath out of the convention hall when it was announced.
Day 3.
The morning session, after the National Anthems (USA, Canada and Puerto Rico), began with nomination for the offices of regional VP’s. We are Western Region and when voting takes place our delegate vote is only cast for Western region nominees.
Each day the nomination proceedings become louder. The positions of regional VP’s really help move the direction set by the leadership of the IBT. You would not want an inexperienced, untested candidate be elected to one on these positions. There are three Western Region VP positions and the current leadership has excelled in their duties.
As happens everyday, the voting took place after the proceeding recessed for the day which was around 17:15. Voting is similar to waiting to go on a ride at Disney Land. As the delegates get close to the voting hall, which takes about 45 minutes of standing in line, all campaign or Slate support items must be bagged and cannot be taken into the voting area.
Teamsters Canada nominations went unopposed for the Hoffa/Hall slate for regional VP. Hence, they did not have to vote.
The results from the Day 2 voting for nominations of Vice Presidents At Large and Trustees was dominated by the Hoffa/Hall slate. No member of the Hoffa/Hall slate received less than 1,360 votes while the most votes cast for a member of the Zuckerman slate was 163. As you can tell by those numbers, the tail is attempting to wag us into an election, that if it occurs, will cost around $19 MILLION.
After the nominations Travis Bornstein, President of Teamsters Local 24 in Akron, Ohio, addressed the convention. The Bornstein family lost their son, Tyler, this past year to drug addiction. Tyler was an athlete and an accomplished college student. Tyler became addicted to drugs after being prescribed pain medication for injuries. He broke his right arm 4 times, the first time at age 12.
The Bornstein family to honor their son formed “Breaking Barriers – Hope is Alive.” Their son could not get the help when he needed it. The focus of “Breaking Barriers – Hope is Alive” is to educate, bring awareness and make treatment available to those that need it. It is a 501(c)3 not profit organization.
After the family told their story an outpouring of pledges were made from the delegation to help build their foundation. There was no shortage of Locals, General Counsels, Divisions or individuals committing donations to the cause. In all, their was $1.4 million dollars committed through pledges and in addition, $22,000.00 was donated in cash from the floor. The BLET, BMWED and the Rail conference pledged $30,000.00 collectively.
The amazing thing was this, all the Bornstein family asked was for us to get the message out about their foundation. They certainly did not expect what took place. The foundation can be found at: http://nowwefightforyou.com/
The Travis Bornstein said, “Thank you. We are going to make a difference. We won’t let you down.”
The afternoon session was addressed by three guest speakers.
Hassan Yussef, President of the Canadian Labor Congress represents 3.3 million members in Canada. Canada has endured many of the same issues that we in the United States have with anti-labor legislation as a result of ultra conservative leadership in their government. In his words they “Kicked their Ass out of office.” Now that they have a more labor friendly political leadership in Canada, legislation is proceeding in favor of labor. President Yusseff echoed the comments that the trade agreement TPP is bad. TPP will raise prescription costs in Canada by $800 million per year.
Dennis Williams, President of the UAW addressed the convention. Staying wit the theme, “we need to fight all trade agreements such as TPP,” said Williams. He also commented that the pay of CEO’s is 387 times that of the average worker. Wall street and corporations have been getting their way far too long. Williams went on to say, “it is our time, our moment in history, we can get this done!”
IUGE General Secretary of the Israeli union, Ariel Jocobi spoke. He recognized the Teamsters support both now and in the past. The Teamsters have offered support and help to IUGE for over 70 years dating back to when the late James R. Hoffa was General President of the Teamsters.
A video message was given by US congressperson Elizabeth Warren. Warren recognized Hoffa for his role with labor. Warrens message was Washington needs to change how things are done. “It works great for corporations and the wealthy”, said Warren.
Resolutions considered and passed were, opiates and painkiller epidemic; pensions; and airline organizing.
Brother Shaun Obrien has been assigned to oversee the organizing the youth of the IBT. The programs focus is to educate the next generation of Teamster Leadership. “Being a TEAMSTER is a full contact sport” said Obrien.
Some statistics from the day:
The Airline Division was founded in 1961 and includes Mechanics, flight attendants, baggage handlers to name a few. There are 80,000 members in all.
As a result of the 2008 financial crisis the Central States pension plan lost $11 billion.
School bus organizing has increased membership from 4000 in 2006 to 46,000 today.
the $1.4 million pledged to the “Breaking Bearers – Hope is Alive” equates to roughly $1 per Teamster member.
In Solidarity
Steve Wells
GCA 900 – Delegate (We are Local Union 900 with the IBT)
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