Chicago IL – Teamsters working at the Frederick Cooper Lamp Company elected Tony Caldera to be their union steward by a vote of 62 to 30. This is a significant victory for the reform movement in Teamsters Local 743.

St. Paul, MN – A standing room only crowd filled Weyerhaeuser Chapel at Macalester College on February 12 and 13. The seventh annual Meeting the Challenge Conference attracted hundreds of labor activists and their supporters. Participants heard about key labor struggles, management attacks, and discussed the growing upsurge in the labor movement.

Chicago, IL – Following a crooked union election in Teamsters Local 743, management has gotten more aggressive in its attacks. Among those hit hardest have been employees at the University of Chicago Hospitals (UCH), Local 743's largest workplace with over 1300 Teamster members.

With just 30 percent of all Teamsters voting, Jimmy Hoffa, Jr., was elected president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He got fewer votes than when he ran and lost the election in 1996. Hoffa, Jr., will be in office two years before the post is up for election again.

Chicago, IL – In an election to decide control of Chicago's powerful Teamsters Local 743, the Hoffa Take Back Slate (HTB) has declared victory over the reformers in the 743 New Leadership Slate (NLS). The Hoffa Slate is closely connected the Chicago underworld crime scene.

In a few weeks, members of the largest union in the United States, the Teamsters, will be voting to elect new leaders. This election will effect the whole American labor movement.

St. Paul, MN – Matt Conbere, a working class fighter in the Twin Cities, a union man and a friend to many, tragically died Sunday, Sept. 15, 2002. Matt worked at Alliant Foods as a driver. He worked difficult shifts with strenuous routes. People describe Matt as a very giving, thoughtful and kind man. He was an inspiration to all who knew him.

Christine Royster ran for vice president of the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters (IBT) last year on the Tom Leedham Rank & File Power Slate. Unfortunately, she lost, denying the Teamsters their first African American woman vice president. Royster, running as a rank-and-file member, would have been a dynamic addition to the Teamsters national executive board.

Chicago, IL – Christine Royster, candidate for International Vice President of the Teamsters, gave the following talk at a Fight Back! Forum in Chicago for Black History Month. Royster is also a key leader in the battle to turn around the 12,000-member Local 743, one of Chicago's largest Teamster locals.

Minneapolis, MN – Video coverage is now available of the Feb. 9-10 Organizing Conference to prepare for RNC Sept. 1 anti-war protest in St Paul, MN. The planned demonstration will coincide with the Republican National Convention.

International Brotherhood of Teamsters president James Hoffa Jr. has proposed the largest dues increase in the union's history. Right now, workers are paying the equivalent of two hours pay per month. Hoffa's proposal is to increase dues by 25%.

The United Parcel Service (UPS) strike in 1997 was the most important labor victory in recent years. It was fought under the reform leadership of then-Teamsters president, Ron Carey, and was won due to the courage and determination of UPS workers.

Cleveland, OH – Hundreds of Teamsters, tired of being driven down by their employers and sold out far to often by their union leaders, gathered November 5-7 for the annual convention of Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU).

Milwaukee, WI – Over 400 Teamsters gathered here November 6-8 for the annual convention of Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU). TDU is a powerful rank and file caucus that's working to turn around the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Milwaukee, WI – Angry labor unionists and their supporters protested here, May 19, against Republican hit man Karl Rove. The conservative lobbying group, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) invited former Bush aide Karl Rove to speak against the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). EFCA promises to make it easier for workers to form unions with less interference and dirty tricks from bosses. Unions and workers are demanding this new amendment to the National Labor Relations Act that will make forming a union a simple democratic choice.

Milwaukee, WI – Trade unionists and community activists picketed here, Dec. 12 outside a business currently using out-of-state, non-union workers for an $18 million renovation.

Minneapolis, MN – Progressive activists from all over the country will attend an organizing conference here Feb. 9-10 to prepare for a national anti-war rally and march set for Sept. 1 – the first day of the Republican National Convention. The conference is hosted by the Coalition to March on the RNC and Stop the War.

Jefferson, WI – Workers here are taking a stand against corporate greed, battling one of the most powerful and vicious companies in the meat packing industry, Tyson Foods. Since Feb. 28, the 450 workers have been on strike against the meatpacking giant, refusing to agree to company demands to gut their union contract and drive down their wages and working conditions.

Milwaukee, WI – 450 members of the Association of Flight Attendants are taking a stand against a greedy, union-busting employer. While the rest of the airline industry was talking givebacks, this group of workers chose to fight back in a fierce struggle to get their first contract. After a three-week strike against the airline that began on Labor Day weekend, the flight attendants were able to get an agreement, which was worth putting to a vote by the members.

Madison, WI – This past fall, workers and students organized to defend the 8-hour day, supporting workers at the Rock-Tenn Corporation's paper factory on the Near East side. The struggle ignited when Rock-Tenn Management demanded workers change from 8 to 12-hour shifts during contract negotiations with PACE (Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers) Local 1202.