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Teamsters President James P. Hoffa appears to be headed for a narrow victory in his bid for election to a fifth term as head of the 1.3 million-member union. Unofficial vote totals show him beating challenger Fred Zuckerman with an estimated 100,000 votes, compared to some 95,000 votes for Zuckerman.

The tally was a lot closer than most observers thought likely and shows the level of division within the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

Official results will be announced following the resolution of challenges related to uncounted ballots, according Richard Mark, head of the Office of the Election Supervisor, an independent agency charged with ensuring a fair election process. Mark told In These Times that the office had received a total of 211,635 ballots, but that some had been ruled ineligible because the voter was not paid up in union dues, or for other technical issues.

Many of Hoffa’s trusted lieutenants also appear to be headed for re-election, including Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall. However, a strong showing by the Zuckerman slate of anti-Hoffa candidates in the union’s Southern and Central divisions translated into victories by Zuckerman-allied challengers for six vice president positions.

Zuckerman released a statement Thursday that offered a partial concession but also said that his side has filed election protests and will pursue every available legal remedy. It read, it part:

“As the ballots were tallied this week, we shocked the employers and Hoffa-Hall slate and won the majority of the vote from Teamsters in the United States. Hoffa-Hall overtook our lead when Teamsters Canada ballots were counted.

Tomorrow, the Election Supervisor’s office will start to resolve the ballots that were challenged because of eligibility issues.

The International Union vote count is nearing a close. The fight for our future is just beginning.”

Preliminary vote totals indeed show that Zuckerman won more votes among U.S. members and was leading by nearly 800 votes before the Canadian ballots were counted. But the Canadian vote went heavily in Hoffa’s favor, about 9,500 to 2,900.

Hoffa showed his greatest strength in the union’s Eastern division, where he defeated Zuckerman 33,373 to 26,573. He also won the Western division 23,636 to 18,069. Zuckerman won the Central division, 36,736 to 26,135, and the Southern division, 10,789 to 8,228.

In a recent interview with In These Times, Zuckerman said he’d been campaigning unofficially for more than two years, and that victory would depend on the ability of the challengers to increase voter turnout among members. But turnout fell from the last presidential election in 2011, when more than 250,000 members sent in ballots.

Election supervisor Mark said he did not expect a final, certified vote to be published until January 2017. He said it typically takes several weeks to resolve outstanding challenges and issues. In no previous case has a presidential election result been altered by the process of finalizing the initial results, Mark said.

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Fred Zuckerman Statement on the IBT Election

Teamsters United

As the ballots were tallied this week, we shocked the employers and the Hoffa-Hall slate and won the majority of the vote from Teamsters in the United States. Hoffa-Hall overtook our lead when the Teamsters Canada ballots were counted.

Tomorrow, the Election Supervisor's office will start to resolve the ballots that were challenged because of eligibility issues.

The International Union vote count is nearing a close. The fight for our future is just beginning.

We launched the Teamsters United coalition to win new leadership and a new direction for our union.

First and foremost, I want to thank the thousands of Teamsters across North America who joined this cause. You are true Teamsters and warriors for the working class.

Hoffa and Hall claimed we were dividing the union and they tried to prevent this election. They were dead wrong. We united members to save our union and rebuild Teamster Power--and we will continue our fight.

We built a coalition to unite Teamsters to win a better future--and this coalition is here to stay, because the problems we face are not going anywhere.

We united Teamsters to win strong contracts and defeat givebacks and concessions.

We united Teamsters to defend our pensions and benefits.

We united Teamsters to eradicate corruption because you cannot fight for the members when you are bought and paid for by the employers.

We united Teamsters to organize the unorganized because that is the only way to defend the standards in our core industries and to preserve our pensions and retirement security.

At no time during this election did Hoffa or Hall address these issues or offer any vision, let alone an action plan, for meeting these challenges. Instead, they trotted out the usual PR slogans and scare tactics.

Hoffa-Hall attacked and lied about their opponents, because we had the courage to tell the truth about them. The members aren't buying what they're selling.

We are proud to have swept the election in the Southern and Central regions and congratulate Tony Jones, Bill Frisky, Bob Kopystynsky, Avral Thompson, John Palmer, and Kim Schultz. They are International Union Vice Presidents who will fight for the members.

Hoffa-Hall used union resources to obstruct corruption investigators and deny Teamsters a fair and informed vote, in violation of the Election Rules and federal law.

We have filed election protests and we will pursue every legal remedy at our disposal.

Employers and anti-worker politicians will continue to attack working Teamsters--and our coalition and movement will be there to fight back.

We will continue to unite Teamsters to fight for strong contracts, end corruption, defend our healthcare and pensions, and to take on union officials who stand with the employers, instead of the members.

We believe in coalitions and bringing union officers and members together and we will continue to do that. The election results show that many officers are badly out of touch. They need to start standing with their members or they will find themselves replaced by a new generation of Teamster leaders.

The International Union vote count is nearing a close. The fight for our future is just beginning.

We will be holding a Conference Call on Saturday to talk about the election, our campaign, and some next steps. I hope you'll join us.

United, we win!

Fred Zuckerman