In the late 1980's/early 1990's Teamster leader Allan Baird felt that our union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, needed to become more reflective of our membership body. At the time wanted to propose renaming the union based on conversations he had with others "the International Brotherhood and Sisterhood of Teamsters". As time has progressed he has also contemplated that it was important to acknowledge sexual orientation as well as gender. This is petition is intended to continue the work Allan began cultivating years ago.  

In preparation for the 2026 Teamsters convention, we the following undersigned Teamster members support a constitutional amendment moving forward that will amend the name of the “International Brotherhood of Teamsters” to the “International Union of Teamsters”.

We the undersigned support this amendment, because the overall demographic make up of our union has changed dramatically over the last 50 or 60 years. We feel in order to not only foster a more inclusive labor movement, but also build solidarity amongst our members, this change needs to occur.

We have no desire to change the history of our union or dismiss the work that has been done under the current name of our union - however, we do feel it’s time for a change so that we can acknowledge and empower everyone in our membership so that we can bring forth a new era of growth and advocacy for our membership and the movement as a whole. 

In Solidarity!

Teamsters Union Name Change Coalition