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.

Madison, WI – “We are going to make Madison a Union city where workers are actively supported in their efforts to organize Unions and win a voice in the workplace,” according to AFSCME Local 2412 member, Joe Mingle. Led by the South Central Federation of Labor (SCFL), many Madison area labor activists have been meeting this summer to plan a coordinated organizing campaign to rebuild labor's strength in Southern Wisconsin. Despite the sometimes slow pace, volunteer organizers are confident that big things are on the horizon for this year.

Miami, FL – Bush and the Free Trade of the Americas Agreement suffered a setback in Miami, Nov. 16 – 21. The Bush administration’s trade representative Robert Zoellick closed the Free Trade of the Americas Agreement (FTAA) meeting a day early with only a partial outline, not an agreement.

Seattle, WA – In a massive demonstration of power, tens of thousands of trade unionists, environmentalists, youth, and anti-imperialist activists shut down the city of Seattle and the meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Maria Martinez is a working class hero. She emerged from a five-week strike against Iowa Beef Processing (I.B.P.) as the clear leader of the rank and file members of Teamsters Local 556 in eastern Washington. This is true because she fought not only the company, but also old-guard union officials who sought to settle short.

Raleigh, NC – “We’re in the middle of an historic crisis,” the president of the North Carolina Public Sector Workers Union (UE 150), Angaza Laughinghouse, told Fight Back!. “It requires a historic response from unions, youth groups, faith groups and community organizations to develop the fight back.”

Fight Back! interviewed Gregg Shotwell, a worker from the Delphi auto parts plant in Coopersville, Michigan, and a founder of Soldiers of Solidarity, an organization of rank-and-file members of the United Auto Workers (UAW). This interview deals with a number of critical issues, including the role of the UAW leadership and the need for a united resistance on the part rank and file workers.

Don't Balance the Budget on the Backs of City Workers!

Durham, NC – Fifty city workers and their supporters gathered outside City Hall here, May 18, to protest a decision by the city council to lay off 35 workers and eliminate 113 more positions that are currently unfilled. The result will put a huge strain on the backs of workers who are already understaffed, underpaid and over worked. The job losses will also lead to a deterioration in critical services that these workers provide to the public.