Teamster's Local 743 Members to Protest Union Officials’ Mismanagement of "Bankrupt" Health Fund

- Picket -
When: 5:30 pm (11:00 am for 2nd shift) Monday, June 4
Where: Teamster City, 300 S. Ashland, Chicago

Chicago, IL—Largely immigrant members of Teamsters Local 743 will picket the next union meeting, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 5 at Teamsters City, 300 S. Ashland, to protest gross mismanagement -- and possible fraud -- in the administration of their health plan. In February 1999 the Local 743 Health and Welfare Plan had over $16 million. Now workers have been told the fund is practically broke.

The trustees of the fund were:

• Local 743 President and Teamster International VP Chester Glanton, currently running for reelection as International VP on the Jimmy Hoffa Unity Slate. Glanton recently resigned as trustee of the fund.

• Local 743 Recording Secretary Richard Lopez, who's been trustee of the fund for nearly six years. Lopez negotiated many of the current deals that involve the union, management and the fund.

• Local 743 Secretary Treasurer Robert Walston, who reportedly took Glanton's place as fund trustee. In the last election Walston was Jimmy Hoffa's campaign manager in the powerful Chicago Local 743.

• Two management trustees, Edward T. Steadman and Joseph Borowitz. Neither owns a company anymore. Workers have been told that they serve as management trustees for the free insurance. In any case, they have never voted against the union trustees.

The fund was founded in the mid 1950s and administered by the infamous mobster Alan Dorfman until he was murdered while out on bail with then IBT President Roy Williams and Mafia hitman Joey "the Clown" Lombardo. After Dorfman's death, his son David took over administering the Fund until then IBT President Ron Carey put the Local in trusteeship. The Fund remained healthy until Hoffa/Dorfman associate Chester Glanton was elected President of Local 743. Glanton no longer comes to union meetings and only rarely takes phone calls. Other Local 743 executive board members have not given a reasonable explanation for where the money went.

Local 743 business agents have been instructed to reopen contracts and either greatly reduce the benefits to 743 members, eliminate family coverage and/or greatly increase the 743 member's contribution. Often the contribution is going from $0 to more than $400 a month for family coverage. Most of these workers gross around $2000 a month and bring home much less. Large numbers of 743 members have already lost family coverage health insurance due to the incompetence – and perhaps theft – of the Local 743 H&W Trustees, the Local 743 Executive Board and Local 743 Business Agents.

Media contacts:
Edwin Soto (English/Spanish)
773-227-2604

Richard Berg
773-989-9843
page: 312-556-2716