T-SPAN Teamster election debate debrief

The two candidates for the General Presidency of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Steve Vairma and Sean O’Brien, will be participating in the first of two debates on Wednesday, September 1 at 6:30 PM (EDT). The debate is sponsored by the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Immediately following the debate, Tempest magazine will sponsor a debate debrief with veteran and current Teamster reform leaders, including Philadelphia Teamster leader Richard Hooker, and former candidates for General President Tom Leedham and General Secretary-Treasurer Tim Sylvester.

We will be asking our panelists to give impressions about the debate, whether it addressed the key issues facing rank and file Teamsters, and what the future of reform looks like in the union. The event will be broadcast live on Facebook and posted to YouTube shortly after.

Hosting the event are two members of the Tempest Collective:

Joe Allen is a former Teamster. He is the author of The Package King: A Rank and File History of United Parcel Service available from Haymarket Books. He is a member of the Labor Branch of the Chicago DSA and a regular contributor to Tempest magazine.

Andy Sernatinger is a public sector Teamster in Madison, Wisconsin. He ran on the Rebuild 695 slate for Secretary-Treasurer in 2019. It was the first contested election in the local in twenty years.

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