I would like to introduce myself as a candidate for president of Teamsters Local 8. I am running with a slate for the upcoming 2026 election in November. Our Slate is Teamsters United.

Teamsters United Slate (TUS) is comprised of members who work on campus every day. Our experience at Penn State and in life is vast. Teamsters United Slate have joined in solidarity for our Brothers and Sisters to educate and represent members to forward their lives within their work environment.

We are confident in our ability to represent members and workers because we are members and workers. Each individual on our slate shares the same philosophy and life experience of working hard to achieve our next goal.

As rank and file, we share the same anxiety of bidding on a new job, losing seniority, losing our work to contractors, getting called in for disciplinary meetings, losing our contract, becoming at-will employees, getting hurt on the job, etc. 

TUS has over 100 years of collective experience working on the floor and in the shops. We are just like you.

We believe the best representation of your voice is by people who share your same experience.

TUS recognizes that the quality of representation can not just be our shared experience.

Quality representation also requires knowledge, professionalism, tenacity, fairness, integrity, strength, humility, intelligence, tact, self-motivation and experience.

Teamsters United Slate has formed because our slate collectively recognizes these traits in one another.

Our Slate has been accused of not having enough experience to take on the role as a new Executive Board.

This statement was made publicly by your current Executive Board. TUS believes that this statement and other statements that were made need to be addressed. We welcome any questions and we will answer them to the best of our ability if we haven't covered important issues in the following:

EXPERIENCE

How does Teamsters United Slate qualify experience?

Is it at the hall or as rank and file on the floor?

If at the hall; they have us there.

6 out of 7 of our slate members have not worked as a union officer.

However, Josh Mignot, Josh Hettinger (aka Hett), and I have been shop stewards for a collective of 20+ years.

While a shop steward, I chose to run independently for a Trustee position to get more involved before I was offered a Trustee position by Members First Slate.  I was happy and excited to accept that position. Shortly after winning that election, I was selected to work with the IBT in the organizing campaign for PSU staff. After my time organizing, while maintaining my Trustee position, I became a full time business agent at the Local 8 hall. I was an officer for 9 years and was at the hall full time for 8 years. During that time, I ran and was elected SecretaryTreasurer on the Member's First Slate.

While in office, regardless of interoffice opposition, I did the following:

 I  represented members, settled grievances, went to arbitrations, was part of negotiating contracts with PSU, and every other duty required of a Local Union Officer.

In addition, I created, spearheaded, implemented biodata trainings, internal organizing, and developed a working relationship with a crisis resource for members. I trained newly appointed BAs in office processes for wage payroll, job evaluations, grievance procedures, and running the business in general, including training the current Secretary Treasurer. 

Throughout my tenure at the Local, I respected and benefited from the wisdom and the knowledge of those who came before me. Earl, Kim, Jigs, Jon, Pat, Chuck, Davey, Lisa, Rick, and countless other former board members, our office managers, the IBT, Pa Conference, Joint Council, TDU, attorneys, mediators, other local union leaders and our own members while I pursued my life-long passion for workers' rights.

Teamsters United Slate does not have the same collective years of experience in office as the current E-Board, however we far surpass their experience as employees of Penn State on the shop floor.

TRANSPARENCY AND KNOWLEDGE

You may have heard or read from our current E-Board that there are "no entities" that will help a new slate and that there is "no learning period" for a new slate

This is a lie!

Penn State might not give any grace period or help with a transition.

The current E-Board, Members First. might not give any grace period or help with a transition.

To be transparent, unions, and particularly the IBT, have systems set in place for newly elected officers to navigate the transitional period

1. Any new officer, whether appointed or elected, goes to officer training at the IBT Headquarters

2. Joint Council - a regional collective of other Teamster Locals and monthly leadership meetings

3. Pa conference - a collective of all Pennsylvania Teamster locals with a network of resources 

4. Teamster member supported organizations that offer training, education, resources, legal counsel, etc especially to ensure that no rank and file member is intimidated to not run because of "lack of experience" 

5. Local 8 Office Manager. Our local hall is managed by an individual who belongs to their own union. Their job is to inform officers of office operations in addition to reporting to the IBT for auditing, among many other tasks

6. Your Teamsters local law firm works for you and your officers whether you have been in office for 40 years or 40 minutes

7. In some unions, it is a general practice for any old E-Board to assist the newly elected E-Board so....TEAMSTERS UNITED WILL NEVER LEAVE THE NEXT SLATE BLIND 

The fact that your current representatives lied by saying that there are "no entities" makes us question their message. Are they lying because:

a. They don't know the facts

b. They're using fear tactics to campaign

c. They believe their own local is so fragile that if they left office, for any reason, it will collapse

Does this make them the right slate for the job?

How long have they been operating while not knowing the IBT constitution and resources? 

Or is it a scare Tactic, to gain your vote to preserve THEIR OWN positions?

How long have they been running on this by keeping us in the dark and controlling elections by fear?

 Teamsters United Slate believes:

All members deserve to have a voice and have a right to vote or run.

All members deserve to have accurate information.

Members First Slate has systematically discouraged their own brothers and sisters for wanting to be more involved

MENDING THE RELATIONSHIP

A current officer made a public statement about our Union that "We don't have a good relationship with the University..." 

Sadly, this statement points to the failure of how our current E-Board operates. It points to their shortsightedness regarding fiscal responsibility, as well as the lack of experience many of the current officers hold.

I recall a time, as an officer and a member of this local, when issues were able to be settled before spending union dues.

I worked in the office when we had reguler roundtables with the University, luncheons with HR from different departments, direct contact with HR and area supervisors to settle things before it went to Labor and Employee Relations and before union  dues were spent on lawyers and arbitrations.

At one point in my history at this university, there was a professional working relationship.

Were there heated disagreements sometimes?

Yes, but they remained professional so we could work on the members' issues before going straight to grievances, lawyers, and arbitrations.

Were there issues that reached the level of grievances, lawyers and arbitrations?

Yes, but they remained professional.

Teamsters United Slate believe that it will only benefit our members to have a working professional relationship with our employer. TUS would like to take the first step of mending the relationship with the University by requesting an introductory meeting once we are elected to office.

These are a few issues that Teamsters United Slate want to address.

Our mission is to empower and represent our Brothers and Sisters with tenacity, transparency, and tact.

In closing, a message to any union leadership:

DON'T EVER:

- Tell a member they should opt out of the union

- Minimize a member's concern

- Address any issue in an unprofessional or vulgar manner at a bar, in public, or at the table

- Make a member feel stupid or fear asking a question, even if it was already discussed

- Intimidate members by belittling, dismissing, ignoring, or accusing

- Lie to or mislead your members with fear tactics

- Discourage members from wanting to be more involved

- Forget that you work for the members (they don't work for you)

- BRING REPROACH UPON OUR UNION

In solidarity and with unanimous approval of Teamsters United Slate

- Cliff Hixson

Candidate for President of Teamster Local 8