In an interview with DC VELOCITY
Senior Editor Mark B. Solomon,
Paff, who turns 65 next month,
spoke bluntly about Hoffa, the state
of trucking labor, and why Pope is
his choice. He also lashed out at
leadership for allowing UPS Inc. to
spend more than $6 billion to buy its
way out of the Central States pension plan, a move he fears will, in the
long run, cost the union dearly.
QOne Teamster executive called you—with grudging
admiration—a “pain in the ass.” Do
you think that’s a reflection of Ken
Paff’s personality, or the nature of a
dissident?
AIt’s the TDU movement that he Hoffa administration finds
threatening. It’s not dissent per se,
and it’s certainly not about me. It’s
about an organized rank-and-file
movement. These officials cannot
stand it when members speak up
and demand accountability. If there
were no TDU, they would not have
to worry about an alternative vision
for the union, and members who
want change would be isolated from
one another. So the Hoffa adminis-
tration spends a lot of resources
attacking TDU.
QTDU is supporting the cam- paign of Sandy Pope to be the
next Teamster general president.
What qualities do you see in her that
convince you she is the most qualified to head the union? And how
would her election affect both
freight carriers and their employees?
ASandy Pope is a Teamster. Hoffa is a celebrity. He is not involved in bargaining contracts, dealing with members’
pension funds, aiding locals, or organizing—the lifeblood of the union. He spends
his time at photo ops and golf outings, and
with his inner circle.
Sandy Pope comes from the ranks and
has experience in leadership at all levels of
the union. Most of all, she has a vision for
tapping rank-and-file power to build the
union. To put the union’s resources into
building strength in core Teamster industries. And she’s not going to be in bed with
the corporations.
There is a great potential to draw
Teamsters—who are by and large good
unionists—into action behind union programs. We saw the beginnings of this in the
1990s, including during the UPS strike of
1997. That strike was not just won at the
table. It was a full year of membership
mobilization and involvement in [the]
struggle. Sandy Pope was a part of that
team. Hoffa and his people tried to undermine that struggle. They cozy up to UPS
management and play “let’s make a deal.”
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QHow would you rate the job that Hoffa has done running the
Teamsters? Where has he succeeded? And
where has he fallen short?
AHis specialty is working the media, which can be beneficial for the
Teamsters and the labor movement. But as a
strategy, it points in the wrong direction.
When he ran for Teamster president, his slogan was “The Hoffa name means power,”
and for a while, he seemed to actually
believe that by puffing himself up, it could
somehow make the union strong. But the
air is out of that balloon. He’s fallen short in
defending Teamster pensions, maintaining
and strengthening national contracts, and
helping local unions. He ran on “local
autonomy” but runs the union top down.
QTrucking labor has been in what appears to be a long-term secular
decline in membership and in influence.
What, in your view, can re-energize the
freight division, if indeed anything can be
done?
AI start with this basic point: Transport and distribution are growth indus-
