(WASHINGTON) – After a decade in office, Ken Hall, General Secretary-Treasurer of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, is retiring upon the completion of his term next Tuesday, March 22, 2022. Hall will continue to serve as President of Local 175 in West Virginia.
Under Hall’s stewardship, net assets of the union rose from $126.1 million when he took office in 2012 to more than $500 million today. The union’s Strike and Defense Fund stands at more than $300 million.
“I am extraordinarily proud of the work we have accomplished over the past 10 years,” Hall said. “We’ve been able to achieve financial stability to ensure our members resources are protected for decades to come. Every member has the security of a strong strike fund should they need to use it.”
Hall took his job as a labor leader seriously and never forgot where he came from. First and foremost, he put the members first. Although best known for serving as the union’s lead negotiator for the largest collective bargaining agreement in the nation with UPS in 1997, 2002, 2008 and 2013, he was called upon by numerous divisions and local unions to assist with negotiations large and small. Hall’s negotiating efforts at UPS resulted in billions of dollars in wages, health care and retirement benefits for Teamsters at UPS, as well as tens of thousands of new full-time jobs.
Hall also used the union’s leverage to take on the “big three” wholesale drug distributors – McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health – for their role in flooding communities with an oversupply of prescription pain pills.
“West Virginia suffered the highest opioid overdose death rate in the country,” Hall said. “I’m proud of having played a role in the fight to reduce access to opioids and hold corporations accountable for their unsavory and illegal business practices.”
Though retiring from the International Union, Hall remains committed to fighting for all workers.
“I’m excited to focus on the members of Teamsters Local 175 to ensure that we continue to improve the living standards for workers in West Virginia,” Hall added.
