Rhode Island Teamsters Battle Hoffa
Monday, May 07, 2018
A member of the Teamsters Local 251 has been ousted from the Teamsters National UPS Negotiating Committee by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters under the leadership of James Hoffa.
On May 4, Matthew Taibi, the Secretary-Treasurer of the Teamsters Local 251 headquartered in East Providence, received a letter from Denis Taylor at the IBT, telling Taibi he was off the committee -- citing "trust" and "honesty" as the reasons why.
READ: See Letter from Hoffa's IBT to Taibi BELOW
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Taibi said he planned to issue a formal response to the situation on Monday, but penned the following in a public post on Facebook following the news.
Denis Taylor and the IBT Package Division are obsessed with what gets "leaked" out from the union national committee and national negotiations with UPS. But Denis completely ignores UPS management blatantly attacking a Local union and the rights of our members. Denis completely ignores the fightback against the company. This is the type of fightback and member mobilization that wins a good contract.
Coincidentally enough, yesterday I put a case on before the NEAPGC that called out management bullying, that called out UPS hypocrisy and dishonesty; where the company had zero witnesses and a zero of a case against the Local Business Agent; and where we openly called for an escalation of member mobilization until justice was served.
A day after, I was removed from the national negotiating committee with little explanation.
Frankly, I'm relieved of the unnecessary travel, of watching the Union propose concessions to a highly profitable company, which I opposed.
Denis Taylor lacks the vision to lead such a fight against the Big Brown Bully. He would rather negotiate with Al Godine alone in a room with little regard for the membership.
I have fundamental objections to the business unionism of Denis Taylor and Hoffa. I have no problems leading my Local, a Local that organizes and fights for working families. A Local that raises the standards of the workers employed by the 'competition' to our larger employers, instead of lowering standards of our best contracts.
More Teamsters Weigh-In
Sean O'Brien with the Teamsters Local 25 in Charlestown, MA weighed in on the fight, as it pertained to more members than just Taibi.
O'Brien posted the following to Facebook:
HOFFA: REINSTATE BOLTON, THOMPSON, TAIBI AND RANKIN NOW
The heavy hand of Hoffa is at it again. Today, Division Director Denis Taylor fired Avral Thompson, Matt Taibi and John Bolton from the National UPS Negotiating Committee.
What was their crime?
Like Mike Rankin before them, they were vocal and aggressive in advocating for their members.
Over the course of the negotiations, Avral, Matt, John and myself have not been shy about stating our positions. And many times our viewpoint doesn’t mesh with Hoffa’s party line. On several occasions Taylor dubbed several of us as “adversarial appointments.” But we’ve kept pushing back.
These most recent firings are a testament to Taylor and Hoffa’s own insecurity. They are over their head and afraid. But instead of embracing critical but constructive voices, Team Hoffa blames its failures and lack of preparation on others. If you dare go off Hoffa’s script, his political PR machine starts screaming that you’re playing politics.
But Hoffa is the only one playing politics with these negotiations by throwing out every dissenting voice at the table.
Hoffa must stop sowing division in our union. He MUST immediately reinstate John Bolton, Avral Thompson, Matt Taibi and Mike Rankin.
"Taibi is fighting UPS and Hoffa is all about helping UPS," said Local 251 official Matthew Maini. "Hoffa wants not to give out information and we do."
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