CHICAGO — Declaring “the beginning of a new era in the history of our proud union,” James P. Hoffa was inaugurated Friday to his first full term as General President of the Teamsters Union.
“Our members are proud and united,” Hoffa said during the Chicago ceremony held in conjunction with the Teamsters Women’s Conference. “They know that regardless of trade or region, we are all members of the same family — the Teamsters family.”
Joining Hoffa was Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, a guest speaker at the Women’s Conference, as well as General Secretary-Treasurer C. Thomas Keegel and the entire General Executive Board, who were also sworn in for five-year terms. The Hoffa Unity Slate was elected last year by a 2-1 margin in the first democratic election run by Teamsters, for Teamsters.
While noting that the Teamsters have regained their place in the front ranks of the American labor movement, Hoffa warned that the challenges ahead will require members to decide what kind of union they want in the future: a vibrant, growing union, or a status quo union that has shrunk and lost its way. “I for one did not run for office to watch this union become a shell of its former self,” he said.
Hoffa outlined the battles that the union faces, including fighting for job creation, oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, pension protections, job safety, fair wages and decent benefits, while opposing unfair trade. “We will not back down,” he promised.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States and Canada.