IBT Secretary-Treasurer Tom Keegel Dumps Hoffa!

July 14, 2010: General Secretary Treasurer Tom Keegel announces he will not run for re-election next year, according to reports from members of the General Executive Board and officials close to Keegel.

Keegel, the number two officer in the IBT, had previously agreed to run with James Hoffa as the Hoffa-Keegel Slate in the 2011 election.  But Keegel also has had disagreements with Hoffa, and at times seemed close to breaking away from him.

The Hoffa administration is reporting that Keegel, who is 68 years old, is retiring for family reasons.  There's is valid speculation that is not the case.  Whether Keegel at some point in the future speaks out regarding his tenure and the upcoming election is an open question.

It's also believed that he will not endorse Hoffa.

The Hoffa camp is circulating petitions to accredit the candidacies of both Hoffa and Keegel at this time.  Nominations for General President, General Secretary-Treasurer and all Vice President positions will be held at the IBT Convention in late June 2011, and the mail ballot election of all 1.3 million Teamsters will be in November 2011.  Joint Council 42s Principal Officer Randy Cammack--who is also Vice-President at Large for the IBT and Secretary-Treasurer at Local 63 has endorsed Hoffa.

Keegel was first elected in 1998, after Hoffa’s first running mate, Billy Hogan, withdrew from the slate with corruption charges swirling around him.  Keegel was reelected with Hoffa in 2001 and 2006.  Now he has opted to step down.

Fred Gegare is at present the only other declared candidate for General President. He is also circulating accreditation petitions, along with three running mates for vice president positions.

Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU), the reform movement which previously backed the campaigns of reformers Tom Leedham and Ron Carey, has not yet put forward or endorsed a candidate.