Summary
Daniel H. La Botz (born August 9, 1945) is an American labor union activist, academic, journalist, and author. He was a co-founder of Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) and has written extensively on worker rights in the United States and Mexico. He is a member of the socialist organization Solidarity, which describes itself as "a democratic, revolutionary socialist, feminist, anti-racist organization,"[1] which comes out of the Trotskyist tradition. La Botz ran in 2010 for a seat in the United States Senate for the Socialist Party. He is also a member of the Brooklyn branch of the Democratic Socialists of America and a co-editor of the socialist journal New Politics.
Dan La Botz | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 8, 1945 Chicago, Illinois, U.s. |
| Political party | Socialist Party USA |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic Socialists of America |
| Spouse | Sherry Baron |
| Children | 3, including Jake La Botz |
| Residence(s) | Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Southwestern College University of California, San Diego University of Cincinnati |
| Profession | Teacher, Historian, Journalist, Truck driver |
Early life and career edit
La Botz was born in Chicago, Illinois but grew up outside San Diego, California.[2] He attended Southwestern College and the University of California, San Diego.[3] When he was in college, he opposed the American involvement in the Vietnam war and supported the United Farm Workers.[citation needed] He is a leader of the socialist organization Solidarity,[4][5] which describes itself as "a democratic, revolutionary socialist, feminist, anti-racist organization"[6] and which comes out of the Trotskyist tradition. In the 1970s, La Botz worked various jobs in Chicago before working as a truck driver.[2] Within the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), he was a co-founder of the Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU),[5] 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 met in Chicago, Illinois 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.[2] La Botz worked in the 1980s as a journalist in Chicago and Mexico City 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 in 1998. He later became assistant professor of history and Latin American studies at the Miami University,[7] the University of Cincinnati and the Northern Kentucky University.[2] La Botz is an editor of Mexican Labor News and Analysis (MLNA).[5][8][9] In May 2010, La Botz was working as a Spanish teacher at Waldorf elementary school in Cincinnati.[2]
Senatorial campaign edit
| Dan La Botz | |
|---|---|
| Campaign | U.S. senate election in Ohio, 2010 |
| Candidate | Dan La Botz |
| Affiliation | Socialist Party of Ohio |
| Status | Lost |
On February 19, 2010, La Botz announced that he was running for the United States Senate in Ohio on the Ohio Socialist Party ballot.[10] He subsequently gathered 1,200 signatures to gain ballot access.[11] La Botz was the only Ohio candidate running on the ticket of the Socialist Party USA.[2]
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%).[12]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rob Portman | 2,125,810 | 57.25% | -6.61% | |
| Democratic | Lee Fisher | 1,448,092 | 39.00% | +2.85% | |
| Constitution | Eric Deaton | 64,017 | 1.72% | N/A | |
| Independent | Michael Pryce | 48,653 | 1.31% | N/A | |
| Socialist | Daniel LaBotz | 25,368 | 0.68% | N/A | |
| N/A | Arthur Sullivan (write-in) | 1,512 | 0.04% | N/A | |
| Majority | 677,718 | 18.25% | |||
| Total votes | 3,713,452 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican hold | Swing | ||||
Published works edit
Books edit
- The Crisis of Mexican Labor. University of Texas: Praeger Publishers. 1988. p. 206. ISBN 0-275-92600-1.
- Rank and File Rebellion: Teamsters for a Democratic Union. University of Michigan: Verso Books. 1990. p. 336. ISBN 0-86091-505-0.
- Edward L. Doheny: Petroleum, Power and Politics in the U.S. and Mexico. Praeger Publishers. 1991. p. 202. ISBN 0-275-93599-X.
- A Troublemakers' Handbook: How to Fight Back Where You Work and Win!. Labor Notes. 1991. p. 262. ISBN 0-914093-04-5.
- Mask of Democracy: Labor Suppression in Mexico Today. South End Press. 1992. p. 223. ISBN 0-89608-437-X.
- Democracy in Mexico: Peasant Rebellion and Political Reform. South End Press. 1995. p. 274. ISBN 0-89608-507-4.
- Made in Indonesia: Indonesian Workers Since Suharto. South End Press. 2001. p. 395. ISBN 0-89608-642-9.
- Cesar Chavez and La Causa. Pearson Longman. 2006. p. 210. ISBN 0-321-18764-4.
- What Went Wrong? The Nicaraguan Revolution--A Marxist Analysis. Brill. 2016. p. 407. ISBN 978-9004291300.
Pamphlets edit
- La Botz, Dan; Clement, Chris; Luce, Stephanie; Post, Charlie (2000). Beating back the corporate attack: Socialism and the struggle for social justice. A Solidarity pamphlet. Detroit MI: Solidarity.
- La Botz, Dan (1997). The fight at UPS: The Teamsters victory and the "new labor movement". A Solidarity pamphlet. Detroit MI: Solidarity.
- La Botz, Dan (17 May 2009). Obama, the crisis, and the movements. Working paper. Detroit MI: Solidarity.
References edit
- ^ Solidarity | A democratic, revolutionary socialist, feminist, anti-racist organization official Web site.
- ^ a b c d e f Landon, Simone (8 May 2010). "Socialist for Senate". The College Hill Independent. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
- ^ La Botz, Dan. "Dan La Botz" (PDF). ucsd.edu. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ "Dan La Botz". The Nation. Archived from the original on December 2, 2009. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Dan La Botz was a founding member of Teamsters for a Democratic Union Archived 1999-10-03 at the Wayback Machine 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 of SOLIDARITY Archived 1999-02-24 at the Wayback Machine."La Botz, Dan (1997). The fight at UPS: The Teamsters victory and the "new labor movement". A Solidarity pamphlet. Detroit MI: Solidarity.
- ^ "Solidarity: A democratic, revolutionary socialist, feminist, anti-racist organization" official Web site.
- ^ "Protesters gather to mark year since shooting prompted riots in Cincinnati". Gettysburg Times. April 8, 2002. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
- ^ Nash, Ken; Rosenberg, Mimi (February 18, 2010). "Building Bridges National: Focus Mexico Crisis Upon Crisis". Building Bridges Coalition: Your Community & Labor Report. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
- ^ L. Sherman, Jerome (September 10, 2006). "Labor turmoil following disaster draws in USW". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
- ^ "Dan La Botz, Cincinnati School Teacher, Socialist Party Candidate for U.S. Senate". CincinnatiBeacon.com. February 18, 2010. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
- ^ La Botz, Dan (Winter 2011). "A Socialist Campaign in Ohio". New Politics.
- ^ a b "State of Ohio 2010 General Election November 2, 2010 Unofficial Results". Ohio Secretary of State. November 2, 2010. Archived from the original on November 9, 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
External links edit
- Interview with Dan La Botz by JK Fowler for The Mantle on March 19, 2011