December 14, 2010
We did it! Teamsters across the country hit the pavement and collected the signatures we needed to accredit our campaign for General President.
The election rules required that we turn in 33,437 signatures. Our goal was 40,000. Today, our campaign turned in more than 50,000 signatures to the Election Supervisor.
It was a tremendous group effort. Members got up early before their shifts, canvassed co-workers, took time off — all because you believe in our union and know that our campaign to rebuild Teamster power can succeed.
I want to thank every Teamster who worked on and supported this petition drive. Together, we’re making Teamster history.
In a few weeks, we will receive the addresses of 1.3 million Teamsters which we will use to campaign for delegates to the Convention in June. We have also won the right to publish campaign information in the February issue of the Teamster magazine.
Just as important, we have built a strong foundation. Tens of thousands of Teamsters learned about the campaign. They know an election is coming. They know they will have an opportunity to turn this union around.
Members have visited this website, signed on to our mailing list, and donated to Sandy Pope 2011.
Many challenges lie ahead. We have to win enough delegates to be nominated. We have to build a war chest to finance our campaign. We have to raise a campaign army to reach out to members, turn out the vote, and win!
In short, there’s a lot more work to be done to save our union in 2011. For now, though, I just want to say again how PROUD I am to be working with members like you.
Happy Holidays to you and your families.
This note was first published in the “Sandy Pope for Teamsters General President” campaign Web site; it is reproduced here for non-profit educational purposes. See, also, Ed Ott, “Interview with Sandy Pope: Labor’s Struggle for Self-Determination” (GRITtv, 2 September 2010); Steve Early, “TDU in Chicago” (MRZine, 12 November 2010).
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