Teamsters resist takeback contract

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6 SOCIALIST ACTION MAY 1985 in pensions-to enable this package to pass.

Even though it takes a two-thirds vote to reject a contract, passage is not a foregone conclusion. In 1983 the Teamsters rejected a Presser proposal by an 88 percent majority. So a two-thirds no vote on this contract is possible. Even a 50 percent no vote would shake up the bureaucracy.

TDU gaining authority

In the fight against the sellout contract and for union democracy, the Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) is gaining authority and members. TDU papers and contract bulletins have been the only source of information for thousands of Teamsters.

TDU has brought a lot of rank-and-file pressure to bear on local officials, thus contributing to a split in the Teamster bureaucracy. Many East and West Coast locals have come out strongly against the new pact. The president of Local 707 in New York tore up a copy of the proposed contract before a membership meeting, calling it "garbage."

Jobs are a central concern of the membership. Some 100,000 jobs have been lost in the freight industry since it was deregulated in 1980. Union policy of granting concessions to save jobs has been proven bankrupt. The largest companies used the concessions to cut prices and run the small companies out of business.

Drivers laid off by the small firms do not get union jobs with the big carriers. These companies have non-union divisions that get the bulk of their new business. Failure to organize the growing ened the NMFA as a master contract and with it the power of a united membership.

To turn this situation around a big vote is needed against Presser's sellout contract. The idea of recalling the negotiating committee should be raised as well. Members should also demand an elected negotiating committee.

A campaign to stop the erosion of jobs through double breasting and subcontracting out to non-union brokers is necessary and possible. Demands should be raised to open the companies' books to inspection by union committees. Free access to the books would reveal the behind-the-scenes deals and management's strategies to weaken the The national contract must be revitalized by bringing all freight under it and ending special-area riders that make locals compete with each other for jobs. By uniting the membership, the power of the whole union can be turned to helping the weaker sections.

Members should push for hiring halls in every local. Overtime should be banned when members have been laid off. A cut in the workweek with no reduction in pay would meet the problem of unemployment among Teamsters.

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SociAList Action FORUM.

Because of the size and political significance of these tremendously successful demonstrations, we have turned over our FORUM section to the coverage of these events. In June we will return to our regular format of presenting differing viewpoints on the many issues facing working people in this country.

Socialist Action correspondents and photographers have contributed on-the-spot reports of the demonstrations in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Denver. This section also includes excerpts from the speeches of some depth of protest This month's FORUM section is devoted nationwide demonstrations against the U.S. cies. of the major speakers at these protest actions.

WASHINGTON-Over 400 chartered buses began arriving early in the morning of Saturday, April 20. People came here by the tens of thousands from throughout the eastern half of the United States to participate in the April Actions for Peace, Jobs, and Justice.

A Festival of Resistance on the ellipse kicked off the day's activities. Simultaneous programs on six stages reflected the various components of the coalition that organized the march. Each stage featured speakers and cultural events focusing on a particular theme.

Before the march began, the crowd, estimated at 65,000 to 75,000, overflowed the assembly area. The parade route took demonstrators past the White House and through part of the downtown shopping area. The rally had already begun by the time the final marchers arrived at the Capitol over three hours later.

Signs and chants reflected the four themes of the demonstration: No U.S. Intervention in Central America; Create Jobs and Build a Just Society; Freeze and Reverse the Arms Race; and Oppose Apartheid/End Racism.

The size of the march exceeded the APRIL 20 ROUNDUI entirely to a roundup of the April 20 government's war and austerity poliorganizers' most optimistic predictions. Local organizing efforts were set back by two attempts to cancel or postpone the demonstration. Local coalitions in many key cities were late getting off the ground. Despite these organizational weaknesses, as word of the demonstration spread, local groups began organizing to express the widespread support enjoyed by the four demands of the April Actions.

Massive outpouring of protest Thousands of students, including sizable contingents from Oberlin College, Columbia University, Harvard University, and Northwestern University, participated. For most, it was their first national demonstration. For many, it was their first political activity. Campus anti-apartheid demonstrations, demanding divestment of university funds, served as the catalyst for involving many of these students.

The Hispanic contingent was the most spirited. Music and Spanish chants demanding an end to U.S. support for the Nicaraguan contras continued for the entire parade route.

The connection between military (continued on page