To:  Concerned TDU Activists 
 

Dear Brothers and Sisters: 

A lot's hapened this week in Teamster politics, and a lot more is likely to 
happen soon.  The whole election situation is up for grabs. 

First, the election may be postponed because the Court of Appeals has ruled 
that the U.S. Government must pay the bills for it, and now Congress has 
refused to appropriate the funds.  Second, Ken Hall is going to withdraw 
from the race due to a serious health problem that will prevent him from 
vigorously campaigning. 

Tom Leedham has announced he would like to take on Hoffa, at the head of 
the reform ticket, and that situation will probably soon be settled.  And 
if that isn't enough we also note that Sam Theodus has been removed from 
Hoffa's slate, charging that Hoffa could not tolerate his independent 
thinking. 

Hoffa is attempting to stampede local officers into his camp.  His recent 
"Hoffagram" bragged that 19 officers have fallen behind him, some of whom 
never actually were in the Carey camp and all of whom have had their 
backbone surgically removed.  He's promised them positions, threatened them 
with loss of favors, and of course he talks of reinstating the Affiliates 
(officers only) Pension Plan. 

Our experience in the 1996 election shows that in locals where officers 
switched over to Hoffa, the members did not.  Recent local elections show 
the same results:  Hoffa's over-rated.  We're aiming for the members, not 
the officers. 

We've had our share of bumps in the past few months, but we think we have 
some exciting opportunities ahead of us.  History is going to move fast. 
We're going to back a strong reform slate, which may be nominated in late 
June.  (No date has been set yet by Judge Edelstein.)  We're going to 
campaign in every local, every craft and every shop.  And we're pursuing 
charges against Hoffa both with Judge Edelstein and with the I.R.B. 

We will be updating you soon on the reform slate and the campaign.  If you 
have questions or feedback, we want to hear from you. 

In solidarity, 
 

Ken Paff