by Danny L. Barton, President

Dear Brothers, Sisters and Family Members:

Indiana has always been called the Crossroads of America, and now Indiana is at serious crossroads that can impact all of our lives.

In the recent International Teamsters election, we were embarrassed by the low number of members who participated. There were over 10,000 ballots not returned in just Local 135’s jurisdiction. Also many members do not vote in political elections in Indiana. This lack of participation can effect the survival of our organization, and your livelihood.

I must say, there was no excuse for members not voting in their International election. The ballots were mailed to the member’s home and members could vote for their choice in the privacy of their own homes. Again, there was no excuse for members not to participate.

The Right-To-Work legislation is going to begin in January 2012, and if you chose not to participate, and stand up and fight for your wages, benefits and possibly your employment, then talk to your fellow members at
Yellow-Roadway Corporation and USF Holland. These members know first hand of the hardships to possibly come.

It is up to all of us to stand together and show these politicians who are
in favor of the Right-To-Work legislation that we are not willing to settle for whatever future they want to decide for us and our families. We must fight with everything this Local Union has, flood the statehouse, march on their homes and businesses and most of all, dump these politicians.

The following letter was sent to Governor Mitch Daniels and numerous editors in Indiana from your Local 135 Secretary-Treasurer and International Vice President. This information is true and it is crucial that everyone stands together and fight.

Danny L. Barton, President
Teamsters Local Union No. 135 and
Teamsters Joint Council No. 69

Letter To The Editor and
An Open Letter To Governor Mitch Daniels

Do The Right Thing, Oppose Right-To-Work

Fresh off your first election victory as Governor, you came to our yearly Union Stewards Appreciation Dinner and addressed a statewide delegation of over 500 Union Stewards from Teamsters Union Local No. 135. You extended an olive branch to our Local Union, as we had supported your opponent Lt. Governor Joe Kernan. I can remember your remarks to our Union Stewards almost verbatim.

You stated that you were not in favor of Right-To-Work legislation. You stated you did not want to tip the balance of power between labor and business. You were comfortable with the labor laws currently on the books and that tipping the balance would be unfair to the hardworking men and women of the labor movement.

You had spent considerable time traveling the state of Indiana and you wanted to bring fairness and common-sense leadership to the citizens of this great state.

Your remarks were well received by my membership, and they took you for your word. I ask you, what has changed you to alter your position with respect to Right-To-Work? The ideology is the same.

You then began a bold initiative called Major Moves, bringing much needed funding to the transportation infrastructure of this state.

You reached out to organized labor and the Indiana State Building Trades Council to help you convince the general public and other legislators that this was in the best interest for the citizens of Indiana.

I personally came down to the statehouse to testify in favor of your legislation at your request, although it was not particularly appealing to my membership outside of our construction industry.

When you began your reelection drive for a second term, you were quoted in the Indianapolis Star as saying that from all the endorsements you received, you were most proud of the endorsement from Teamsters Joint Council No. 69, our statewide affiliate.
Your remarks about Right-To-Work to our membership played an integral part in the decision making process to endorse your candidacy in 2008.

We can’t help but feel betrayed.

Right-To-Work legislation is inherently unfair and places burdens on Unions that no other entity has to endure.

Unions would be required to represent employees for free, negotiate their contracts for free, process their grievances for free, perform research, pay legal expenses, all for free. Unions are not public defenders. They are not subsidized by tax dollars. They represent their membership through the collection of dues revenue or fair share payments for those representation costs, costs that have been agreed to by the membership when they vote on their contracts.

Proponents of Right-To-Work are attempting to convince the public that they are passing this legislation to attract new business for the state, or to defend an individual’s rights to join or not join a labor Union. You can hide behind these assertions, but you know as well as I know, nothing could be further from the truth. The reason business groups and the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, and the Republican Party want this legislation is to weaken the Union’s power at the bargaining table, thus enhancing their own power to dictate terms and conditions of employment on their workforces, and to silence the base of the Democrat Party.

Opponents of Unions are quick to point out that Unions only represent 7% of the private sector workforce. I ask you, then why would the Indiana General Assembly leadership make this legislation that clearly does not affect 93% of the Indiana electorate a top priority? Americans are tired of partisan politics. The citizens of Indiana are no different. Passing legislation without any bipartisan support is a mistake for Indiana.

I reject your argument that “Union members are the privileged elite.” My membership works hard everyday, providing a service to the business community and contributing their tax base to this great state, and I am proud of their rich history.

If you truly are concerned about fairness, I urge you to do the right thing and oppose Right-To-Work legislation.

Brian R. Buhle
Teamsters Local 135 Secretary-Treasurer and
International Vice President