Rank-and-file Teamsters in large Dallas, Los Angeles and Orange County locals have organized delegate slates in a grassroots movement to dump Sean O’Brien in 2026. If elected, the combined 42 delegates would attend this summer’s 2026 International Brother of Teamsters (IBT) Convention set to be hosted in Las Vegas where they would back the Richard Hooker Jr. and John Palmer led Teamsters Fearless Slate 2026.

Ticked off by Hooker’s candidacy, it is no surprise O’Brien is attempting to shut down all opposition through intimidation and coercion. Already, the majority of principal officers at local chapters across North America have been forced to issue endorsement letters for his reelection bid and a donation of $2,000—the max any Teamster can legally donate during the election process. Despite these forced endorsements several officers fearful of O’Brien’s authoritarian and vindictive behavior speaking on the condition of anonymity expressed they did so “simply to avoid a target on their backs.” O’Brien’s plan is to block 5% – or 80 delegates from voting to nominate the Hooker-Palmer ticket at the convention that would trigger an election in the Fall.

Such tactics have been part of the old-guard agenda since the 1991 Teamsters convention when rank-and-file members finally won the right to vote. At that year’s convention the first ever reform candidate – Ron Carey, not only succeeded in being nominated with only 15% of total delegates, but went on to win the Teamsters general election with over 48% of the vote in a three-way split. His landslide victory not only delivered the union’s corrupt old-guard, but corporate America a warning of drastic events to come.

For the 18,000 Teamsters at Local 396 in Los Angeles made up of UPSers and solid waste, the opportunity to elect Western Region vice-presidential candidate Hannibal Aguilar and the Local 396 Integrity Slate to this summer’s convention is in motion. Their local has suffered from the closure of the once 1,000-plus member UPS Grande Vista Hub after their principal officer Victor Mineros—riding on the coattails of O’Brien – endorsed the weak and toothless language negotiated by the general president (GP) himself. For such loyalty Mineros was rewarded with one of four Western Region vice-presidential positions and the throne of Teamsters Joint Council (JC) 42. Both titles come with two additional lucrative salaries of over $86,000 for the VP position and $60,000 for the JC. His combined total salaries from Local 396, JC 42 and IBT are due to jump north of $120,000 in 2026 after awarding himself $246,535 in 2024. Salaries for 2025 have as of this writing yet to be reported by the Department of Labor.

Thus far the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (IA) by UPS since the ratification of the concession filled 2023 agreement has resulted in an estimated 55,000 union job losses nationwide at Big Brown—this after reaching a peak of 340,000 during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. In January, UPS announced another 30,000 jobs are due to be slashed in 2026. But for Local 396 UPSers, the most brutal concessions were suffered as a result of Mineros being appointed as Teamsters UPS Southwest Chair. As chair he allowed O’Brien to sucker him into accepting 50% less in health, welfare and pension (HW&P) from the two previous agreements—meanwhile 37 New England, central and southern states were rewarded with the full $5 in HW&P. As a result of Mineros’s negotiating blunder, Southwest UPSers currently receive the lowest pension contributions in the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust (WCTPT).

For Local 396 sanitation members who felt betrayed by Fred Zuckerman and the discredited Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) over their endorsement of a violent thug like Mineros – the time to vote for Integrity couldn’t be riper. Local 396 sanitation members in Southern California for long have been left behind with substandard contracts and the lowest pension contributions in the industry. They too will have the opportunity to participate in this delegate election and vote against O’Brien’s and Mineros’s conservative brand of pro-business unionism.

In Orange Conty’s Local 952 two opposition groups led by Mike Raziano and Danny Herbert have joined forces and formed the 952 Dump O’Brien slate. They are committed to dumping O’Brien’s reactionary agenda and the thuggery ushered by their principal officer – Eric Jimenez who openly has attempted to emulate the toxic and embarrassing mobster era of the Teamsters typically portrayed in a Martin Scorsese film. The UPS pension concessions of 2023 also have the 1,800 UPSers of the local enraged. They blame Jimenez who as co-chair of the Southwest Rider failed to speak out on their behalf. That animosity was further exacerbated in January when he had the arrogance to award himself a 12% raise over the next three years.

Jimenez’s total compensation from Local 952 exceeded $192,000 in 2024, followed by a second stipend from the International of $18,000 that raised his total compensation to above $210,000. The second in command, John Green who was compensated with $161,845 in 2024 – is currently caught fighting DUI misdemeanor charges in court after prolonging his trial for two years. Much like Hoffa did over his 23-year reign, O’Brien has turned a blind-eye on the out-of-control drinking at Local 952 and failed to issue disciplinary action.

It is obvious the two incompetent numbskulls in the Southwest: Mineros and Jimenez – sat there as O’Brien’s useful idiots and allowed him to plunder the lives of 40,000 Southwest members. As a result of their inaction—Local 396 and 952 pension contributions have been frozen since 2023 at $13.56 and $13.46 rates for full-timers. Such freeze will result in Southwest UPSers missing out on gains of over $1,000 more per month in retirement. For the 18,000 members of Los Angeles and 8,000 in Orange County—they have the greatest opportunity to dump O’Brien and serve him and his loyal puppets with a taste of their own medicine.

More unfair for the Southwest members, two supplements in the Pacific Northwest which are chaired by Western Region vice-presidents and Minero’s own running mates: Rick Hicks in Washington and Mark Davison in Oregon managed to secure pension increases for their members. Washington UPSers are currently at $15.45 per hour and are scheduled to receive two more pension increases that will raise their contribution by end of the five-year agreement to $15.95. Oregon UPSers who began the contract at $13.84 have also managed to secure yearly pension improvements and as of last August climbed up to $14.59.

Hence, it is no surprise Mineros nor Jimez turned a blind eye on this Southwest pension fiasco in exchange of another bureaucratic title, salary and pension contribution. Together these O’Brien acolytes are a breed of unprincipled opportunists that should be rejected by every rank-and-file Teamster this Spring by exercising their democratic right via the ballot box.

For the 10,000 members of Dallas’s Local 767 that swept a reform slate into office in 2018 and regretfully endorsed O’Brien in 2021, the local has over the past four years disintegrated. Many of the reformers staffed that were once linked to TDU when they were victorious—have mutinied and returned back to the truck disgusted with the direction their principal officer Dave Reeves has taken the local. As a result of the failed direction, two executive board members not supporting O’Brien have also jumped off the slate. Therefore, rank-and-file members in Dallas have united to form the New Vision 767 2026 Delegate Slate in an effort to back the Teamsters Fearless Slate 2026 at the convention.

Overall, these three genuine rank-and-file groups are bravely exemplifying the very best of the Teamsters shop-floor against the thuggery, intimidation tactics and authoritarianism of a rotten old-guard headed by Sean O’Brien and should have the support of every rank-and-file Teamster hungry for a genuine progressive and militant direction.

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