James P. Hoffa,
General President

I am proud to be speaking here today at the Teamsters Women Conference dedicated to increasing and strengthening the role that women play in our union and expanding the ranks of Teamster women through organizing.

Over the past quarter of a century and more, as millions of women in have joined the work force, we have seen women become a major part of the labor movement and the Teamsters union. Over a third of our Teamsters membership is made up of working women.

Teamster women work in nearly every occupation, from nurses to truck drivers, from construction workers to police, from clerical workers to factory workers, from flight attendants to pilots.

Polls show that women are strong union supporters. But we know that Teamster women are the strongest of all.

What do women workers want?

Like all workers, they want jobs that offer good and wages benefits, jobs that can allow them to raise a family, jobs that offer dignity and respect. Like all working people, women want affordable health care, paid family leave, better pensions and Social Security, and stronger affirmative-action laws. Working women also want equal pay for equal work! They are sick and tired of making 73 cents for every dollar a man makes.

How can women workers make progress in all those areas? Equal pay, paid family leave, childcare, retirement security?

By organizing . . . by belonging to a union . . . BY BECOMING TEAMSTERS!

The fact is that UNION WOMEN make more than NON-UNION WOMEN. The typical female union member makes 37% more per week — $157 — than a woman who does not belong to a union.

In America today, millions of workingwomen are not getting a fair deal. It is a disgrace that ten of thousands of hard workingwomen hold jobs that do not provide health insurance, pensions, sick leave or vacation. It is disgrace that workingwomen still earn less money than men for doing the same work. It is a disgrace that in American millions of working women are struggling daily to balance the demands of work and family in their lives. And it is a disgrace that when working men and women try to improve their lives on the job by organizing unions, employers wage vicious campaigns against them.

We must strengthen and defend the right to join unions. We must demand equal pay for equal work. We must demand fairness because inequality in the workplace hurts everyone. And that's what the Teamsters union is fighting for: equality and justice for all working people.

Teamster women are more likely than other women to earn the same pay as a man for the same work. Teamster women are more likely than other women to have good health benefits and pensions. Teamster women are more likely to have respect and dignity on the job than other women. Life is never easy, but it is certainly much better with a Teamster contract than without one!

The Teamsters union today is leading the fight for better jobs, better benefits, and a more powerful voice for working families.

Today’s Teamsters union is building the strongest organization of working men and women possible.

Today’s’ Teamsters union is about transforming the landscape in America from one where the rich get richer and everyone else falls behind. It is about spreading American democracy to working people.

Today we are taking steps to insure that we continue to build our strength and restore the promise of the American dream to all working people. The more we are united as a union, the stronger we will become. We will build Teamster strength through unity.

Our union is no longer fighting a battle on two fronts. We are no longer weakened by the disease of disunity and division. We are united and looking forward.

When the Teamsters union goes head to head with Corporate America, these companies are now staring into the face of a powerful union whose members stand strong for each other. And we have seen the results.

A united and powerful Teamsters union is winning stronger contracts, organizing new members, and making our voices and the voices of all working people heard in politics.

Last year, your new Teamsters leadership negotiated the best national carhaul agreement in thirty years. And we won this contract without a strike because the companies knew that we were once again a united union, and that the Teamsters were not afraid to fight and stand up for their members.

Teamster flight attendants at Northwest Airlines are now voting on the best contract negotiated in the airline industry in many years — one that brings them from the bottom of the industry to the top.

Teamsters at UPS are finally enjoying the fruits of their 2-week strike in 1997! The ten thousand jobs promised by UPS are now finally being created because UPS was facing a newly united and strong Teamsters union. Your Teamster leadership will never squander the hard fought gains of its members. Wherever Teamster members are in a battle, we will be there 110%.

We know that the Teamsters union wins good contracts and good jobs for its members. And we know that millions of working people who are not union members want jobs with good wages and benefits and more security; we know that they want to have power and a voice on the job.

That is why we are fighting for a union and a contract at Overnite Transportation and winning. Overnite has waged war on its workers and has refused to respect their right to be represented by the Teamsters. But the Teamsters have stood united behind workers at Overnite because we know that when they win, we all win, our families win and the American labor movement wins. The Teamsters will win; we will civilize Overnite.

As Teamsters, we must also become a powerful voice for working people in the political arena and in the battles over global trade. We are taking on the faceless multinational corporations that roam the planet in search of cheap labor and freedom from environmental responsibility. That is why we are leading the fight against Permanent Normal Trade Status for China.

We knew that U.S. corporations wanted to let unsafe trucks from Mexico on U.S. highways. So we waged a campaign and forced the Clinton Administration to keep the border closed to unsafe trucks!

Today, we know that Corporate America — the banks, the insurance companies, the investors — wants to swing open the door to imports from China and sacrifice the good union jobs of millions of American workers. We are fighting this tooth and nail on Capitol Hill as we speak and, whatever the outcome of the PNTR battle, we will continue to fight for worker rights in the global economy.

The Teamsters union today, through unity, has reclaimed its place at the forefront of the labor movement and American politics.

United, we have seen victory. And we will continue to fight and win. Together, we will build our strength and secure a better future for our members, for Teamster families and for all working people. That is what the Teamsters union is all about.

Men and Women. Building Better Lives Together.