# Teamsters for a Democratic Union

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American labor organization

Teamsters for a Democratic Union Founded June 5, 1976 Headquarters Detroit, Michigan Location United States/Canada Key people Ken Paff Affiliations Teamster Reformers Website www.tdu.org

**Teamsters for a Democratic Union** (**TDU**) is a [grassroots](/source/Grassroots) rank and file organization whose goal is to reform the [International Brotherhood of Teamsters](/source/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](/source/Cleveland), [Ohio](/source/Ohio), in the 1970s, as an alliance of [socialists](/source/Socialists) who had taken Teamster jobs and a layer of [militant](/source/Militant) truck drivers who had been organizing against contract concessions,[1] 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.[2]

## TDU activists

- [Dan La Botz](/source/Dan_La_Botz)

- [Pete Camarata](/source/Pete_Camarata)[3]

- [Thomas Geoghegan](/source/Thomas_Geoghegan)

- [Paul Alan Levy](/source/Paul_Alan_Levy), general counsel 1984–1999[4]

- [Ken Paff](/source/Ken_Paff)

- [Sandy Pope](/source/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.[5]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Teamsters for a Democratic Union"](https://rfs.dsausa.org/case-studies/teamsters-for-a-democratic-union/). *Democratic Socialists of America*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230616023920/https://rfs.dsausa.org/case-studies/teamsters-for-a-democratic-union/) from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Marvit, Moshe. ["A Lesson on How to Unite Across Race and Class From… the Teamsters"](https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/a-lesson-on-how-to-unite-across-race-and-class-from-the-teamsters/). *The Nation*. Retrieved 14 December 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Martin, Douglas. ["Pete Camarata, Who Fought Fellow Teamsters for Reforms, Dies at 67"](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/us/pete-camarata-who-fought-fellow-teamsters-for-reforms-dies-at-67.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Retrieved 15 February 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Goldberg_2024_4-0)** Michael J. Goldberg (December 13, 2024). ["At the Intersection of Federal Labor Law and Rank-and-File Activism: A Legal History of Teamsters for a Democratic Union"](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5015681). *[Berkeley Journal of Employment & Labor Law](/source/Berkeley_Journal_of_Employment_%26_Labor_Law)*. **45** (2): 177–231. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2139/ssrn.5015681](https://doi.org/10.2139%2Fssrn.5015681). [SSRN](/source/SSRN_(identifier)) [5015681](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=5015681). Retrieved January 5, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Levin, David. ["The Teamster Revolt Against the Hoffa Era"](https://jacobinmag.com/2020/01/teamsters-democratic-union-tdu-hoffa-ups). *Jacobin Magazine*. Retrieved 16 January 2020.

## Further reading

- Rank-and-File Rebellion: Teamsters for a Democratic Union by [Dan La Botz](/source/Dan_La_Botz), [Penguin Random House](/source/Penguin_Random_House), 1992

- Rebel Rank and File, Edited by Aaron Brenner, [Robert Brenner](/source/Robert_Brenner), and Cal Winslow, [Verso Books](/source/Verso_Books), 2010

## External links

- [Teamsters for a Democratic Union Homepage](http://www.tdu.org/)

- [International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) Homepage](http://www.teamsters.org/)

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