Pete Camarata (born September 7, 1946, in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

) was a Teamster

labor activist A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling) is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official. A majority of unions appoint rather than elect their organizers. In some unions, the orga ...

and one of the founders of Teamsters for a Democratic Union a rank-and-file union democracy movement organizing to reform the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), or Teamsters.

Early Years

Pete was born in Detroit, Michigan the auto capital of the world. Pete was the son of a

United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico ...

organizer, Caspar Camarata who worked for Packard Motor Car Company.

Teamster Activism

At the young age of 29, Pete was the solo TDU affiliated delegate to the 1976 Teamster convention, where he spoke out against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters leadership. He was later beaten unconscious for his opposition.

References

International Brotherhood of Teamsters people 1946 births 2014 deaths {{Worker-activist-stub