With Al Mixon’s
long Teamsters career obviously sliding into a sink-hole, the Hoffa-Hall 2016
slate metaphorically stepped on his head
to push him down deeper, faster by filing a complaint accusing him of failing to
file timely fundraising reports on his campaign for Teamsters international
president.
The mystery is why?
Last summer, Mixon seemed destined to
be reelected as International Vice President on the Hoffa slate. Then a
surprising something happened: on Aug. 10, 2015, he declared himself a
candidate for the presidency running against incumbent James P. Hoffa.
The Teamsters’ Election Officer issued
a decision on April 1, 2016, affirming that Mixon had not met the
required deadline for the filings. The decision also slightly lifted the
veil on his demise as a union official noting that he had been found guilty of
internal union charges although no details were provided explaining who brought
the charges or what they involved.
The guilty verdict resulted in Mixon’s
suspension from the Teamsters for six months and stripped him of his many union
positions ranging from secretary-treasurer of Cleveland Local 507 to International
Vice President.
The Teamsters General Executive Board has
rejected Mixon’s appeal of the case against him. He has decided to carry that appeal a step further: to the international convention’s delegates at Las Vegas’
Flamingo Hotel in June.
The prospect of a reversal by the delegates is slim indeed.
Mixon faces a maximum fine of $2,500
for failing to file the required reports. As far as I know that penalty has yet to be imposed.
I am still puzzled by why the Hoffa
slate bothered to press the filings case against Mixon whose presidential
campaign appears to have gone not much further than his announcement as a
candidate.
***
Addenda: On April
14, 2016, Al Mixon withdrew as a candidate for IBT general president.
***
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