Three Different Unions Compete To Unionize Teamsters' International Representatives
The Teamsters, under its prior leadership, has a history of internal union strife with its own employees.
Less than a month after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters agreed to pay $2.9 million to settle a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination, a petition was filed on Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to unionize the union’s 24 International Representatives.
On Wednesday, the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, Local 32035, which represents a number of workers employed by unions, filed a petition with the NLRB to hold a secret-ballot election in order to unionize “all International representatives” employed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in Washington, D.C.
However, the petition also lists two other unions—the Federation of Agents & International Representatives (FAIR) and the Association for Worker Justice (AWJ)—as “intervenors.”
According to the NLRB’s Case Handling Manual, a ‘ full intervenor’ in a certification election, is union “that seeks to intervene on the basis of a showing of designation by at least 10 percent of the employees in any unit claimed appropriate by a petitioner, cross petitioner, or involved employer” and “may ‘block’ an election agreement in such unit and it may participate fully in any hearing thereon.”
Whereas, a ‘partial intervenor’ may intervene on a showing of less than 10 percent.
“This showing may be only one designation,” according to the NLRB.
It is unknown whether FAIR or AWJ are full intervenors or partial intervenors to the News Guild’s petition.
Once the NLRB processes the petition, it is possible there will be an election where the Teamsters’ International Representatives can decide which of three unions will represent them in collective bargaining with their employer, the Teamsters.
It is also possible that union’s representatives will choose to vote ‘neither’ and not to be unionized at all.
The Teamsters’ history of ‘union busting.’ It is not the first time the Teamsters have had labor strife within its own ranks.
In 2013, after its union organizers at the Teamsters’ headquarters unionized with FAIR, the Teamsters was accused of trying to ‘quash’ its own employees’ union.
Teamsters officials openly threatened their own organizers to discourage them from joining FAIR, leading to accusations that the Teamsters were union-busting their own employees’ union.
Although the Teamsters’ internal union strife of ten years ago involved James P. Hoffa, predecessor to the union’s current president, Sean O’Brien, it is unknown whether O’Brien will take as hardline stance against his employees unionizing like his predecessor did.