James P. Hoffa - Split From The AFL-CIO

Split From The AFL-CIO

Frustrated with the AFL-CIO’s lack of emphasis on organizing, the Teamsters Union and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) split from the AFL-CIO on July 25, 2005. The group of breakaway unions, which later included the Laborer’s, United Farm Workers and United Food and Commercial Workers Union, formed their own group called the Change to Win Federation. “We have been disappointed that over the last 10 years we have seen a decline in membership, a decline in density.”

Hoffa further explained his union’s decision to Fox News.

“In our view, we must have more union members in order to change the political climate that is undermining workers’ rights in this country. The AFL-CIO has chosen the opposite approach. We proposed that the AFL-CIO embark on a new course of action that would not only protect our existing Teamsters members and their families but lead to thousands of new working men and women to have the opportunity to organize into a strong union that would give them the chance to achieve the American dream to own their own home, send their kids to college and plan a strong retirement.

Hoffa, while pledging support of the AFL-CIO, said, “Today’s decision means that we have chosen a course of growth and strength for the American labor movement based on organizing new members. ... This is just the beginning of a new era for America’s workers.”

Hoffa is an advocate of fair trade policies and a wide range of legislation. Hoffa has advocated recently for reforming the nation's health care system and initiated a new website named Teamsters for Health Care Reform Now. He also composed a weblog essay on the Huffington Post attacking Whole Foods for undermining efforts to win Congressional reform. Hoffa also spoke on the Thom Hartmann radio program about the politics of health care reform.