Why Do They Hide?

By Tim Sylvester and Jim Reynolds

Obscene, anonymous leaflets have appeared in the Maspeth and Nassau buildings attacking feeder driver Pete Mastrandrea.

Brother Mastrandrea’s crime? Standing up to the Executive Board, opposing the concessionary contract they negotiated, and holding them accountable at union meetings for the losses in our pension and health funds.

Instead of taking these issues head on, Pete’s detractors get personal and throw mud. The reason is obvious.

When you can’t defend yourself on the issues, you resort to personal attacks. And when you don’t have the guts to face your fellow Teamsters and tell them what you believe, you hide behind anonymous flyers.

Click here to download a leaflet.

A Proven Record of Telling Members
Who We Are And Where We Stand

Anonymous leaflets and personal attacks have no place in our union. They pit member against member over side issues. They don’t do anything to build Local 804 unity or power.

That’s why for two years, we have proudly identified the source of our leaflets and bulletins: first as Make UPS Deliver and then as 804 Members United. When the time has come to deal with controversial issues, we’ve addressed them head on.

We came out and told the truth about the Pension Protection Act and the company/union scare campaign that if we voted the contract down, our pension could not legally be restored.

We opposed the concessions negotiated by our Executive Board and urged a No vote on the contract. We factually reported our Pension Fund’s substandard investment performance, the diversion of contributions from our Health Fund, and the Health Fund’s loss of $18 million in assets.

Whisper Campaigns & Scare Tactics

In contrast, the defenders of the Executive Board have resorted to whisper campaigns and scare tactics. During the contract vote, a leaflet appeared on Long Island, attacking members who opposed the company’s first contract offer and urging members to vote to eliminate 25 & Out for new employees.

Maybe the authors of this Vote Yes leaflet remained anonymous because they knew they were on the wrong side. Hiding behind anonymity sure made life easier for them when the members rejected their advice, voted the concessions down and won a better contract as a result.

Stand Up and Be Counted

Local 804 Members United will continue our policy of sticking to the issues and putting our name on our leaflets. The cowards who are distributing anonymous leaflets should man up and do the same.

If a Teamster can’t stand up for their own beliefs, you can bet they won’t stand up for you when push comes to shove.

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