March 11, 2010: The Independent Review Board (IRB) has released a devastating 125-page report detailing a “nepotism and favoritism” scandal in the home local of International Vice President Bill Hamilton.

March 5, 2010: Union officers often think of union democracy as a threat to their power. But union democracy is about member power, and member power means union power.

March 3, 2010: For many years, Jim Santangelo ruled Los Angeles Local 848 with an iron hand. Now the members realize their local belongs to them and it's paying off.

March 2, 2010: A grand jury is looking at allegations that top Teamster officials working at the city’s convention centers intimidated witnesses in assault cases involving union members, sources say.

February 26, 2010: For years, Local 854 members in New York City have had substandard wages and working conditions compared to other school bus unions in the city.

February 26, 2010: Teamsters at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Los Angeles are demanding a basic union principle: the right to vote for their chief steward.

February 11, 2010: Can you imagine Teamster officials willing to dissolve their local union rather than settle a case with a member that they blacklisted from working?

January 18, 2010: Teamsters in Chicago Local 743 have been battling to free their 11,000-member local from mob and old guard control for many years.

January 29, 2010: Some rail officials are trying to take away the Right to Vote for BLET officers before members ever get a chance to use it.

February 1, 2010: The Hoffa administration has revoked the charters of Chicago Locals 714 and 726, and created a new Local 700 for Chicagoland public sector Teamsters.

January 22, 2010: Teamster bus drivers are taking a new route to a better contract in 2010.

January 14, 2010: On January 13, the elected president and secretary treasurer of Chicago Local 743 won a stay of effectiveness issued by General President Hoffa and will remain in office, after top Chicago officials ruled that they should be removed on trumped up charges.

December 7, 2009: Two Teamster officials are under fire for allegedly sexual harassing their staff and other Teamster members. One has already resigned.

December 3, 2009: UPS Teamsters in New York have elected a reform team to lead Local 804—one of the most powerful Teamster locals in the country. In record turnout, the 804 Members United Slate swept their local union election with 68 percent of the vote.

November 20, 2009: Ed Rodzwicz, the President of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen of the IBT, stepped down today after he was arrested last month for taking a $20,000 bribe.

November 17, 2009: Helen Green, the president of Las Vegas Teamster Local 995, has filed suit in federal court, charging that the Local 995 secretary-treasurer demanded that she continue a sexual relationship with him to keep her job as a business agent.

November 16, 2009: The president of a local Teamsters union filed a federal lawsuit Friday that claims her supervisor used his position to coerce her into a sexual relationship with him.

November 5, 2009: A top West Coast Teamsters official who headed a chapter representing almost 130,000 members has resigned his post amid allegations that he sexually harassed a former union secret

November 3, 2009: Commercial mover Walter Taylor has been fighting for a stronger Local 814 since 1987. His efforts bore fruit in their 2009 election when Local 814 voted 72% for new leadership.

October 30, 2009: After years of sell-out contracts and benefit cuts, members of New York Local 814 voted by 73% to elect Jason Ide and the New Directions Slate.

October 30, 2009: Just days after hundreds of Local 848 members came to the union hall to call for Jim Santangelo to resign, he was driven out of office.

September 17, 2009: A sexual harassment scandal involving an International Vice President has cost our union a half million dollars.

September 1, 2009: You take your kid to the dentist and go to pay the $20 co-pay.

August 28, 2009: Three former officials of one of the largest Teamsters locals in the country were sentenced to prison Thursday for rigging union elections in Chicago in 2004.

August 26, 2009: Chicago Teamsters are walking the picket line at SK Hand Tools to win back their health coverage.

August 24, 2009: "We're prepared to be here all night if we have to."

August 20, 2009: Teamsters Local 714 -- long the domain of the powerful Hogan family, and a repeated target of anti-corruption investigators -- soon will cease to exist in its current form.

August 10, 2009: Take a peek inside the investigative reports on Teamsters Local 726 leaders -- who were stripped of their posts recently amid allegations of financial mismanagement -- and there's pretty stunning material.

August 3, 2009: The reins of Teamsters Local 726 -- which represents numerous blue-collar workers with Chicago city government -- were seized Monday by the group's parent union, which stripped leaders of their posts amid allegations of financial mismanagement.

June 3, 2009: New leadership is getting the rank-and-file involved to win a strong contract. Members are making their voices heard.

May 22, 2009: Ex-officials of Chicago Local 743 may go to jail for a scheme to steal local union elections.

A Chicago jury has found former Local 743 President Richard Lopez and two other ex-officials guilty of a scheme to steal Local 743 elections. Three other officials already pled guilty.

May 5, 2009: A federal jury May 1 in Chicago handed down guilty verdicts against the former president of International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 743 and two former officers charged with labor fraud and theft in connection with a union election rigging scheme (United States v. Lopez, N.D. Ill., No. 07-580, jury verdict 5/1/09).

May 1, 2009: A Chicago jury has found former Local 743 President Richard Lopez and two other ex-officials guilty of a scheme to steal Local 743 elections.

April 17, 2009: Teamster Mark Jones gave his wedding list to his boss thinking it would be used for fundraising in a local union election.

April 10, 2009: Most Teamster local union elections are run honestly—but if you’re running for local union office, you need to police your election to make sure it is fair.

April 10, 2009: On April 6, former Local 743 President Richard Lopez went on trial for his part in a scheme to steal Local 743 elections and defraud the members of their right to vote.

April 8, 2009: Two former union officers and an organizer for Teamsters Local 743 rigged a union election in 2004 by diverting secret ballots to family members and friends who weren't authorized to vote, a federal prosecutor told a jury today as their trial began.

March 25, 2009: Former Teamster official Robert Walston is headed to jail for conspiring with other Teamster officials to steal Local 743 elections and defraud the members of their right to vote.

March 11, 2009: More than 80 members packed the house at New York Local 814 on Monday. They were there to discuss proposed changes that would help New York movers win a strong contract.

March 2, 2009: Local 743 Teamsters are standing together to fight layoffs at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

March 2, 2009: At the same time he was the $150,000-a-year president of Chicago Local 743, one of the largest Teamster locals, Robert Walston was involved in a cocaine-trafficking scheme, according

February 19, 2009: Less than six weeks after taking office, the new principal officer of Local 179 has resigned in the wake of a corruption scandal.

February 12, 2009: The former president of Pittsburgh Local 249 has been found guilty by the International Union of rewarding friends and punishing enemies in hiring drivers in the movie industry.

February 4, 2009: Robert Walston, former president of Local 743, has been charged with conspiracy and drug dealing in connection with the purchase and distribution of 80 kilograms of cocaine.

January 10, 2009: Teamsters in Las Vegas and Buffalo have new officers in 2009.

Local 804 members beat concessions and pension cuts, won new rights in their local bylaws, and organized to rebuild union power.

Local 743 used to be run by officials who cut deals behind closed doors and kept members in the dark.

Teamsters in Las Vegas Local 631 will have new leadership next year, thanks to members who voted out officials who were cutting sweetheart deals.

Last spring, Baltimore Teamsters had their pensions cut to zero. Now they are building a force for change.

December 16, 2008: Teamster members can win new rights and protections by changing your local’s bylaws.

December 15, 2008: A long-troubled Teamsters local has elected a leadership slate of reformers, throwing out incumbents accused of steering nonunion work to preferred companies in exchange for favo

November 20, 2008: On Nov. 19, the 3,500 members of Local 249 voted current President Wayne Shatkoff out of office by a vote of 1,178 to 884.

September 19, 2008: It’s illegal to use union funds to promote a slate for union office. But it happens sometimes, and members have a right to file an election protest when it does.

A large group of Teamsters attended a recent meeting hosted by the Fighting for the Future slate in Local 726.

August 29, 2008: Last October, Local 355 President Denis Taylor told Baltimore UPSers he was “taking care” of their pension problems.

August 22, 2008: Last Saturday, over 100 Local 396 sanitation Teamsters came from across Southern California to have a picnic and build solidarity.

August 1, 2008: More than 80 Teamsters wear TDU T-shirts to work every Thursday at the UPS hub in Manhattan.

July 2, 2008: A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that a Teamster official who stole a union election must repay his salary and benefits.

July 2, 2008: The U.S.

June 20, 2008: A pension attorney representing Local 804 members has warned trustees at the Local 804 Pension Fund that they are in violation of federal law for refusing to comply with members’ r

June 17, 2008: International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President James P.

June 13, 2008: For the second time, Teamsters union officials have taken Local 714 out of the hands of a member of the Hogan family.

June 12, 2008: On June 9 the International Union finally followed the recommendation of the Independent Review Board (IRB) and placed Chicago Local 714 into trusteeship.

May 1, 2008: Do you want to find out more about your local union's finances?

May 21, 2008: School bus drivers in New York City are showing that persistence pays off—literally. Ask Juan Carlos Rodriguez, a Local 854 Teamster and member of Teamsters for a Democratic Union.

May 1, 2008: John Coli, the president of the Chicago Joint Council, has finally gotten his wish: Chicago Trade Show and Movie Teamsters will transfer to his own Local 727.

April 21, 2008: UPS Teamsters in New York have overwhelmingly voted for changes that will put more pension and contract information in the hands of the members.

March 27, 2008: Teamsters in New York Local 804 will vote this month on bylaws changes that will put more pension and contract information in the hands of the membership.

March 27, 2008: After years of apathy and neglect, members and new officers in Chicago Local 743 are working together to turn their union around.

March 10, 2008: A former president of Chicago Local 743, who resigned to try to avoid criminal prosecution, has now been indicted.

February 27, 2007: This new video details how working Teamsters in Chicago took back Local 743.

February 21, 2008: An “agitator” is the device in your washing machine that stirs things up and gets the dirt out.

February 21, 2008: Wayne Shatkoff, president of Pittsburgh Local 249, was suspended from office on Feb.

January 10, 2008: Last year, members in Chicago Local 726 voted two times to reject a proposed tentative agreement that didn’t protect their jobs.

January 10, 2008: Change continues to be on the agenda in Chicago Local 726 as Members of the Fighting for the Future Team plan to re-introduce bylaws changes they made last January.

December 21, 2007: With little support from their outgoing officers, Teamsters at the University of Chicago have won some improvements after voting down their tentative agreement twice.

December 5, 2007: On Jan. 1, the 13,000 members of Chicago Local 743 will get a chance to build a stronger union as Richard Berg and the New Leadership Slate take office.

November 20, 2007: The Chicago Tribune reports on sham contracts and nepotism in a new article detailing the corruption in Chicago Local 714.

October 29, 2007: The Independent Review Board (IRB) has recommended that Chicago Local 714 be placed into trusteeship.

October 28, 2007: He was out of work. So he took the $7-an-hour janitor's job figuring that something else was sure to come along. This was back in 1988.

October 22, 2007: The 12,000 Teamsters in Chicago Local 743 have reason to feel proud, with the victory of the New Leadership Slate in today's election.

September 11, 2007: Bobby Hogan, the secretary treasurer of Chicago Local 714, has been charged by the Independent Review Board (IRB) with bringing reproach upon the union.

September 7, 2007: Local 743 President Richard Lopez and other officials have been indicted on charges of rigging their local election. Now reformers are preparing to run and win this fall.

September 6, 2007: The National Labor Relations Board ordered the reinstatement of a fired Teamster reform activist.

October 9, 2007: Thanks to TDU, International Union Vice President, and former Local 237 president Carroll Haynes is being forced to repay more than $100,000 in improper payments.

August 23, 2007: By Richard Berg: The 11,000 hospital, custodial, clerical, and manufacturing workers of Teamster Local 743 will get something they haven’t had recently: a fair local election.

July 12, 2007: The International Union and New York Local 237 are investigating International Vice President Carroll Haynes over tens of thousands of dollars in payments he received from an HMO tha

July 12, 2007: On May 26 former Houston Local 988 President Chuck Crawley was sentenced to 6 ½ years in federal prison for embezzling union funds and stealing a union election.

July 12, 2007: The members of Chicago Local 743 will get a different kind of election this fall thanks to action taken by the 743 New Leadership Slate in proving ballot fraud in the last election.

July 12, 2007: By Joe Sexauer, Local 743: After five months without a contract, over 1,000 janitors, clerks, and maintenance Teamsters at the University of Chicago are still fighting hard for bette

July 12, 2007: By John Dominikovich Local 726, Chicago: It’s time for change in Chicago Local 726, to make this union strong and proud.

July 3, 2007: The International Union and New York Local 237 claim to be investigating HMO "consultant" payments received by International VP Carroll Haynes.

June 8, 2007: University of Chicago Teamsters are organizing a grassroots contract campaign to win better wages and benefits.

June 8, 2007: Provident Hospital is laying off members of Local 743 in Chicago, but Secretary-Treasurer Richard Lopez is missing in action.

May 29, 2007: By Cindy George from the Houston Chronicle--A federal judge today ordered that Chuck Crawley spend six and a half years in federal prison for his schemes to control Houston's larg

May 29, 2007: By Cindy George for the Houston Chronicle--For all the damaging acts blamed on Chuck Crawley, the worst was taking a man's livelihood, says Francis Pradier, who is paying off $50,

by Bruce Blake, Local 848, Retired

May 9, 2007: Local 743 Secretary Treasurer Richard Lopez has seemingly disappeared while Provident Hospital lays off Local 743 members.

April 2, 2007: On March 21, it was no normal monthly meeting at Chicago Local 726. The hall was packed with hundreds of members, with many people in the hallway.

April 2, 2007: In 2004, Richard Berg said some activists had doubts about running for office in Chicago Local 743.

March 21, 2007: When’s the last time that half of the members of your local union attended a general membership meeting?

February 27, 2007: Now is the time to win a strong new contract for the 1,200 Local 320 Teamsters at the University of Minnesota, members say.

February 27, 2007: With no support from their local, Teamsters at the University of Chicago are getting ready for a rank-and-file contract campaign.

By Gina Alvarez, Local 743 Steward, CSPF Office, Chicago

January 26, 2007: The “Fighting for the Future” slate is getting organized to make positive changes for all 4,300 Local 726 members in metro Chicago.

October 18, 2006: "Our last contract was terrible. Can we get the right to elect our bargaining committee?"

Waste industry giants have declared a nationwide war on Teamster health benefits.

Local 82 Teamsters in Boston overwhelmingly voted to approve a series of bylaws amendments to give members a stronger voice in the local.

Running for local union office is a chance to do more than change the faces at the union hall.

Teamsters will be thinking about more than one election this fall. Apart from the U.S. Presidential election, many Teamster locals will be holding elections to select their local officers.

Commercial movers and art handlers in New York City have defeated an attempt to merge their local union.

January 30, 2006: What Happens When Elections Are Not Supervised!

December 5, 2005: TDU members who filed a class action lawsuit against Tyson Foods have won a landmark victory at the Supreme Court that will put millions in the hands of more than 800 meatpacking wor

January 28, 2005:Members in two local unions representing over 10,000 Georgia Teamsters have voted this fall for new leadership. In November Local 728 members elected the Members First Slate.

January 28, 2005: New York Local 805 members elected the Sandy Pope Leadership Action Team in balloting on Dec. 7.