Daniel H. La Botz (born August 9, 1945) is an American
labor union activist, academic,
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...
, and author. He was a co-founder of
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) is a grassroots rank and file organization whose goal is to reform the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or Teamsters Union. The organization has chapters nationwide in the United States and Canada ...
(TDU) and has written extensively on worker rights in the United States and
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. He is a member of the
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
organization
Solidarity, which describes itself as "a democratic, revolutionary socialist, feminist, anti-racist organization," which comes out of the
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...
tradition. La Botz ran in 2010 for a seat in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
for the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
. He is also a member of the
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
branch of the
Democratic Socialists of America
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing Democratic Socialists of America#Tendencies within the DSA, multi-tendency Socialism, socialist and Labour movement, labor-oriented political organization. Its roots ...
and a co-editor of the socialist journal ''
New Politics''.
Early life and career
La Botz was born in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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but grew up outside
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
He attended
Southwestern College and the
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...
. When he was in college, he opposed the American involvement in the
Vietnam war
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
and supported the
United Farm Workers
The United Farm Workers of America, or more commonly just United Farm Workers (UFW), is a labor union for farmworkers in the United States. It originated from the merger of two workers' rights organizations, the Agricultural Workers Organizing ...
. He is a leader of the
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
organization
Solidarity,
["Dan La Botz was a founding member o]
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
and is the author of
Rank and File Rebellion: Teamsters for a Democratic Union
' (Verso). He edits the biweekly ''Mexican Labor News and Analysis'' and is a member o
SOLIDARITY
." which describes itself as "a democratic, revolutionary socialist, feminist, anti-racist organization" and which comes out of the
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...
tradition. In the 1970s, La Botz worked various jobs in Chicago before working as a truck driver.
Within the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the un ...
(IBT), he was a co-founder of the
Teamsters for a Democratic Union
Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) is a grassroots rank and file organization whose goal is to reform the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or Teamsters Union. The organization has chapters nationwide in the United States and Canada ...
(TDU),
a reform caucus partially maintained by members of Solidarity. TDU began in 1975 when a small group of freight Teamsters, some from the
International Socialists (IS) group in
Berkeley, CA
Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emery ...
met in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, subdivision_name ...
and founded Teamsters for a Decent Contract (TDC). The IS later merged with other organizations from Trotskyist traditions to form Solidarity.
La Botz subsequently worked as a community and union organizer and later a journalist.
La Botz worked in the 1980s as a journalist in Chicago and
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
and as an author on topics of workers' struggles and unions in the United States and Mexico. He earned a
PhD in American history at the
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...
in 1998. He later became assistant professor of history and Latin American studies at the
Miami University
Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...
, the
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...
and the
Northern Kentucky University
Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern ...
.
La Botz is an editor of ''Mexican Labor News and Analysis'' (MLNA).
In May 2010, La Botz was working as a Spanish teacher at Waldorf elementary school in Cincinnati.
Senatorial campaign
On February 19, 2010, La Botz announced that he was running for the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
Senate in Ohio on the
Ohio Socialist Party
The Socialist Party of Ohio (SPOH) is a socialist political party in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1901, the SPO was an affiliate of the Socialist Party of America. Since the 1972 renaming of the SPA to Social Democrats, USA, it has been the ...
ballot.
He subsequently gathered 1,200 signatures to gain ballot access.
La Botz was the only Ohio candidate running on the ticket of the
Socialist Party USA
The Socialist Party USA, officially the Socialist Party of the United States of America,"The article of this organization shall be the Socialist Party of the United States of America, hereinafter called 'the Party'". Art. I of th"Constitution o ...
.
In the
United States Senate election in Ohio, 2010, SPOH candidate La Botz received 25 thousand votes (0.68%); the Republican winner
Rob Portman received 2.125 million votes (57.25%) and the Democratic candidate
Lee Fisher received 1.448 million votes (39.00%).
Published works
Books
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Pamphlets
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References
External links
Interview with Dan La Botz by JK Fowler for ''The Mantle'' on March 19, 2011
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Botz, Dan
1945 births
21st-century American historians
21st-century American male writers
American male journalists
Trade unionists from Ohio
Living people
Politicians from Cincinnati
Socialist Party USA politicians from Ohio
American truck drivers
University of California, San Diego alumni
University of Cincinnati alumni
Members of Solidarity (United States)
Members of the Democratic Socialists of America
Ohio socialists
California socialists
Illinois socialists
Historians from Ohio
American male non-fiction writers