Dan La Botz
American labor union activist, academic, journalist, and author
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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.
affiliationsDemocratic Socialists of America
Dan La Botz | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 9, 1945 Chicago, Illinois. |
| Party | Socialist Party USA |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic Socialists of America |
| Spouse | Sherry Baron |
| Children | 3, including Jake La Botz |
| Alma mater | Southwestern College University of California, San Diego University of Cincinnati |
| Profession | Teacher, Historian, Journalist, Truck driver |
Early life and career
La Botz was born in 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
| 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
Books
- 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
- 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 (May 17, 2009). Obama, the crisis, and the movements. Working paper. Detroit MI: Solidarity.
